Back in Diapers
by heartsyhawk
Summary: A story about growing up, even though sometimes people have to grow down a little first. Forge made an oops with a time machine and now 12 mutants are reliving their childhood...literally read and review svp!
1. ADULTS AGREE TO GO BYEBYE!

Hiya. Heartsyhawk is back. Last time I was just giving y'all a bit of insight into my brain. this is where the story starts. I want to ask, wait beg, for your pity and understanding. This is my first fanfic but I will promise it won't be my last- if people like it...I value constructive criticism so when you review tell me what you like and don't like. K? I will try to update weekly (but sometimes you'll get more than one per week and sometimes, you'll wait for a month before you get new stuff. I'm still in high school *grumble* so I have lovely things like exams and reports that will compete with my writing. Oh and if I randomly mention Animorphs, Harry Potter or Smallville try to ignore me. I'm chronically known to be insane. Oh and you are hereby warned about my evil twin. Her name is Alix Maximoff (she is a bit Pietro obsessed). She may randomly make snide and or crude comments so ignore her as well. Read on and don't forget the blue button at the end of the page.../  
  
Disclaimer: No I still don't own X-Men. But I do have a lead on where the other pink sock is...  
  
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"Oh go on Professor!" The students grinned. "You adults deserve a vacation. We're responsible enough to take care of everything here."  
  
Charles Xavier looked helplessly at the large group of his students. They were begging for him and his colleagues to accept a trip to Europe that they had won on a radio game show. Ororo glanced at him. Recent events would make a vacation greatly appreciated. Even Hank McCoy looked slightly excited. The professor smiled at the students; about to accept the vacation when Logan growled.  
  
"Chuck, ya sure about this?" The small dangerous Canadian said with an edge to his deep voice. "I mean, do you seriously think leaving 25 kids alone for so long is a good idea? Especially since a whole lot of 'em used to be our enemies?"  
  
At this, the brotherhood and former Acolytes looked up guiltily. They had all come home with the x-men when Magneto met his untimely end. The ex-brotherhood were all too young to live legally on their own, with the exception of Lance who did want to be the legal guardian of Toad, Blob and the Maximoff twins. So they did the only thing they really could and showed up on the institute doorstep begging for a home. Xavier hadn't turned them away.  
  
"Now Logan, each one of them has joined us willingly. There is no need to discriminate." The professor scolded." I expect you to treat them the same way as you would, Bobby, Kurt, or Kitty."  
  
"I'm not discriminating. I don't trust the ice cube, elf or half-pint either." Logan grumbled testily.  
  
Scott had had enough. "Look, Logan I'm 19 and Jean is 18 you can trust us. The two of us are mature enough to handle things around here."  
  
"Hey. Ya Know ya ain't the onleh responsible one here, Scott" Rogue pointed out, her southern accent flaring up even though it had been starting to fade." Ah'm 18 too. So is Sam. We're both trustwortheh."  
  
Logan looked slightly put out but he recovered and turned towards the elevator.  
  
"Where are you going, Logan?" Scott asked.  
  
"I'm going to program a danger room run for when we get back and the mansion is in ruins and you and Red begging for mercy at the hands of these delinquents Slim."  
  
"Hey homme (man), Remy be 19 an' mature too, y' know. Nuttin' gonna 'appen." The scowling Cajun crossed his arms. Lance followed suit.  
  
"Yeah. Don't forget that I am 19 too. Do you honestly think I'd let anything happen to Kitty or any of her friends?"  
  
Logan growled as he turned to leave, the group distinctly heard him mutter "Definitely don't trust Gumbo or the rock tumbler much either."  
  
When he was gone, the students all turned back to Professor X. The man in the wheel chair smiled. " Unlike a certain colleague of mine, I believe you all are completely trustworthy. Just don't let what happened last time you were unsupervised happen again." At this Kitty and Kurt and Evan and a few others looked guilty as they remembered the party they had thrown, which Mystique had crashed disguised as Rogue's best friend Risty. The professor continued, amused by the memories his comment had surfaced. "Just as long as that doesn't occur again, Ororo, Hank, we'll leave in the morning. Please kindly tell Logan and pack".  
  
An insane cheer from the group of students met this.  
  
"Oh no" a certain young 18-year-old girl with auburn hair and two white stripes through it sighed partially to herself. "Ah just know tha' the idiot Cajun's gonna use this tahme ta flirt an' drahve meh crazy."  
  
"Don' y' know it, petite!" Remy gave her his trademark smirk and she rolled her eyes and groaned.   
  
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So how was it? Let me know please. I really have to know what is good and what is bad about this. I have been reading fanfiction for about three years while working on my style. Do you love it? Like it? Hate it? TELL ME!! Ok we both know that there is a magic purple-ish blue button that will allow you to review...Pleez use it...(hopeful begging puppy dog face) 


	2. PARTY TIME!

Hiya Heartsyhawk is back!!! If you have read this far you are on my friend list. Cookies to all of y'all!!! ok this is the second chapter of Back in Diapers. Last time was kind of boresome ( FYI that means boring in my language). This is where the stuff begins to get interesting.. There's major ROMY in this chapter...  
  
oh yeah...I need a Disclaimer: Here's a question for y'all. If I, Heartsyhawk, owned the X-Men ( in any form), why would she even approach this website with a ten-foot pole? Helloooooo! I do believe this is *clears throat* FANFICTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Doesn't that mean I kinda don't own anything I write about here?! or is that just my interpretation, huh? Ok Ok. I so do NOT own X-Men Evolution or any books, bands, products, or corporations, etcetera, discussed in this story. I own my three OC's, my afore mentioned properties and the second pink sock which continues to evade my capture...So read on friend's; read on...  
  
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The next morning the four faculty members stood in front of the X-jet. All their suitcases and things had already been loaded.  
  
"Alright. We shall be gone for a month." Charles Xavier began." Scott, Remy, and Lance, at nineteen years old, the three of you are the oldest so all of the younger students are relying on your advice, responsibility, experience, and good leadership. Jean, Rogue, and Sam, I expect that the three of you will act like the responsible eighteen-year-old adults you are. I am not anticipating any trouble since Apocalypse has been defeated and the Friends of Humanity have been quiet lately. However you should all be prepared anyway. You are all such responsible young adults. I trust you'll work everything out. There is money for groceries in the shopping money box and in the student luxury accessory box as well. Also, Ororo set up something with the bank so that the money set aside for bills will arrive in time to pay the bills, and each student's allowance will arrive weekly. Hmm, since the older students are going to be busy running everything properly, Piotr, I will entrust the distribution of money to you."  
  
Hank finished checking the X-Jet. "Looks like everything is in proper functioning order." He looked at the students. "Each of you has our cell phone numbers if you require any assistance. So," he looked at his colleagues and grinned. "We are able to depart posthaste."  
  
"Take care, everyone." Ororo smiled and waved. She walked over to her nephew, who had just returned from the Morlock caverns, and hugged him. "Especially you, Evan. We do not want to lose you again. Well I'll see you all in a month everyone."  
  
"Yeah, see you, Auntie O." Evan smiled and waved as his aunt boarded the jet.  
  
"Parting is but such sweet sorrow. But we shall return after our pleasant and hopefully relaxing excursion to Europe." Beast said merrily as he climbed the boarding ramp.  
  
"Bye," Logan grunted softly. "Take care of yourselves. You two especially. Half-Pint. Stripes." He nodded to Kitty and Rogue, respectively. "Oh yeah. And Stripes, if Gumbo tries anything you don't like, I'll tear his heart and lungs out through his nose for you to put in a jar on your desk." He growled causing poor Remy to gulp nervously. "Oh and Rocky," he snarled at Lance, who had an arm draped comfortably on Kitty's shoulder, " You'd do best to keep your distance form the Half-Pint here. If the elf tells me anything I don't like, you'll be sliced like lunch meat." The six adamantium claws popped out to demonstrate that he was dead serious and Lance gently (but very quickly) removed his arm from Kitty.  
  
"Goodbye, everybody." The professor sighed and followed the scowling Canadian into the X-jet.   
  
"Zon't forget to zay hi to mein parents ven you get to Germany!" Kurt shouted.  
  
"Like, take lots of pictures," Kitty called.  
  
"De nay be fergittin' souvenirs!" Rahne yelled sweetly in her Scottish accent.  
  
"Have fun!!!" everybody called out. " Good Bye! Bon Voyage! See you in a month!"  
  
When the X-jet took off everyone glanced at each other. A slow gin appeared on every face. When the jet was out of sight a loud cry of triumph broke the silence.  
  
"Party, anyone?" Ray Crisp, or Berserker, spoke up with a mischievous gleam in his eye.  
  
Nobody disputed. Well, actually Jean and Scott tried protesting and giving a "responsible behavior" lecture but they gave in shortly knowing that they were severely out numbered and they would have fun too. After all what teenager other than Rogue or possibly Wanda does not enjoy a good party? So they helped put out food and snacks and order out for about ten Pizza Hut pizzas to be delivered while Kitty and Bobby made some calls for guests. About half an hour later a whole flock of party craving teens showed up and partied.  
  
Rogue smiled as she watched all the people having fun. She popped open a can of soda. A few of the others had wanted alcoholic stuff but the six oldest students put their feet down. They were all too young and it was illegal and they didn't want to be cleaning up after kids with hangovers and then explaining that to Xavier. A party was one thing. You can not leave about twenty-five teens unsupervised and not expect a party. And they were careful about which guests could be admitted in. But alcohol was a big NO-NO. The final result was about five twelve-packs of soda and quite a few grumbling youngsters. (The former Brotherhood Boys {Toad, Blob, Lance, and especially Pietro}, and two of the former Acolytes (Remy and Pyro} were the most upset but Lance and Remy understood that they had been trusted to be in charge of the younger kids so their misery was short-lived.)  
  
Rogue drank her soda and surveyed the room around her. Care-free teens danced to their hearts' content to a large selection of music from each of the institute's occupants' CD collections. Amanda had come and Rogue watched her brother Kurt flirt like crazy with the sweet nonmutant, who to Rogue's knowledge was still not allowed to be anywhere near the blue, fuzzy, mutant boy.   
  
Rogue felt a hot wave of jealousy and sadness when the two leaned in for a kiss. Rogue would never get that. Why should her brother? It just wasn't fair to the poor untouchable girl. She sighed to herself, torn between the emotions of jealousy and sadness that were the result of her brother and his girl friend's ability to touch and happiness that her brother, who was also one of her best friends, was now happy and enjoying the presence of his girl friend.  
  
"Aw, Chére. What de matter?"  
  
Rogue jerked up in surprise. Sprite Remix (A.N.: Heartsyhawk's favorite soda), cascaded down her front and when she turned to face her, startler she tripped and was caught a few feet from the floor by big, strong, muscular, Cajun arms. (A.N.: Heartsyhawk has started drooling. 8)   
  
"Aww, Petite, Remy t'inks y' be fallin' fo' 'im, Chére." A cocky grin settled onto his distinct face and Rogue scowled in his arms. She hurried to upright herself which proved a difficult task, as her captor had no intention of releasing her from his arms. Eventually she struggled up and he grabbed her and forced her to turn so that she was obligated to look him in the eyes.  
  
"Lemme go Cajun," she warned as she glared into his red-on-black eyes with her own emerald green ones.  
  
"Not till y' answer Remy's question, petite." He purred suavely.  
  
She cast a futile glance over her shoulder to see if her brother could rescue her from the flirty Cajun. But it was no use. Kurt and Amanda were still locked into a romantic kiss-and-cuddle session. She sighed again. Remy followed the distraught, Gothic girl's gaze to the lip-locked couple.  
  
"Ah. Say no mo', Petite." Remy chuckled at her forlorn expression. "De green-eyed-monster got y', huh?" He smirked at his pun as her own green eyes flashed angrily. "Remy unde'stands. 'E felt de same way when 'is petite soeur (little sister) useta bring de boys 'ome an' 'is older brother brought de filles 'ome wit' 'im, befo' Remy had control o' de powers. Kissin' was not a good t'ing t' do when 'e 'sploded everyt'ing 'e touched."  
  
He smiled softly and Rogue sighed. "Does Remy always speak in the third person?" She asked warily.  
  
"Yup. Most o' de time Chére." He smirked and her response was to roll her eyes.  
  
"Hey everybody! I have an awesome idea." Tabitha called as she shut the music off and everyone flocked around her. "What's a party without party games? So how about we play one of my favorites?" She grinned mischievously. Everybody agreed and she instructed them to sit in a circle. Then all of the guests realized that it was pretty late and that they had better be heading home. They all said thanks and left, except for Amanda who stayed to spend more time with her boyfriend. Tabitha shrugged. Ah who needs those flat scans anyway? Oh, no offense meant Amanda."  
  
"None taken," the girl smiled and cuddled close to Kurt.  
  
"Well now that the loser squad left..." Tabitha grinned and rubbed her hands together impishly. "The name of the game is (dun. dun .dun) TRUTH OR DARE!"  
  
To be continued...  
  
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SOOOOOOO What did you think? Like it? hate it? Think trained assassin Penguins should peck me to death? Tell me. Oh and just as a reminder I welcome flames and will give them to Pyro to with as he pleases. So if you think this bites I really wanna know and I am not just being sarcastic for one time in my life.  
  
Next time on X-men Evolution...  
  
An awesome game of truth or dare,  
  
and Pietro in his underwear!  
  
A Tonda kiss with  
  
Some Romy Bliss  
  
A dude in a dress.  
  
Is it Ray?  
  
Got all that? Yep. Okay.  
  
Let's see. I will update around this time next week. Luv y'all a lot! Buh-bye!!!  
  
P.S.: You see the magic button.   
  
P.P.S.: You are getting sleepy. Veryyyyyyyyyyy Sleeeeeeeeeeepppppyyyyyyyy. You want to click on the magic button yes? Very sleepy...When you see a smilee face you'll wake up and have an unsatisfiable urge. An urge to review my story and tell me the god's honest truth about what you think of the story....  
  
:)  
  
-Heartsyhawk- 


	3. TRUTH OR DARE

Hiya Heartsyhawk is back!!! If you have read this far you are on my friend list. Cookies to all of y'all!!! Ok this is the next chapter. Last time was kind of boresome (FYI that means boring in my language). This is where the stuff begins to get interesting. Sorry in advance for any accents. I can speak any of them, but writing them is a whole other story...Also some of the dares and truths I used were lame and random but mostly pretty funny. (Shrugs) If you don't like 'em tell me in your review. (Hint. hint)  
  
Oh yeah...I need a Disclaimer: Here's a question for y'all. If I, Heartsyhawk, owned the X-Men (in any form), why would she even approach this website with a ten-foot pole? Helloooooo! I do believe this is *clears throat* FANFICTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Doesn't that mean I kinda don't own anything I write about here?! or is that just my interpretation, huh? Ok. Ok. I so do NOT own X-Men Evolution or any books, bands, products, or corporations, etcetera, discussed in this story. I own my three OC's, my afore mentioned properties and the second pink sock which continues to evade my capture...So read on friend's; read on...  
  
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Shout outs:  
  
Rowena Zahnrei- Hey you are my first reviewer! You get a gold medal and my 1,000,000-watt smile! Ok you had some questions for me huh? Ok first I must explain that when I originally wrote the prologue I included the statement that I would explain the sudden vacation at a later time. I apologize profusely for the fact that it was somehow deleted. But I promise that the quick departure will not seem as rushed when I explain that in a later chapter. Lets see, as to the sudden leaving of the normal kids...I blame Cody. Yeah him...Its all his fault. No seriously, I'm still just a rookie at this. I guess I did rush that but I should not have even brought them in, as I view it with hindsight. They were just there to move things along. Thanks for the tips though. I'll try to be less hurried and vague in the future. Read on and enjoy!  
  
Ishandahalf- Hey you reviewed for me! That is awesome! I hoped you would. Glad you liked the little rhyme scheme of mine. I think that for every chapter I will do that as hints to what to expect in the next chapter. I love rhymes! They totally rule! Read on and revel in the upcoming Romyness!  
  
SickmindedSucker- I have a feeling I just massacred your name. If I did I am sorry. Anyway I love truth or dare! There are so many possibilities...You can make anyone do anything! And trust me I will...LOL! Nope, sorry it's not Scott in a dress. Read on to see whom...hopefully you'll like the next installment of Back in Diapers!  
  
Fluffy Kitsune- Hey cool name! Cool profile too. Thanks for putting me on your favorites list! I'm all giddy and happyful! Read on! I hope you like it!  
  
Vaillance- Hey thanks. Glad you like it. I will continue to write this. I never really expected so many people to be interested in my work. Keep reading!  
  
HAYDENCE- Glad you like it. Hope you enjoy this next bit too!  
  
Curious in Kansas- (Laughing) No it's nothing personal. If I had known anybody would have cared about my screen name I would have explained it. But I thought I went on about me for too long. So you want to know huh? Ok well yes you are right. Normally raptors and hearts are not thought of together. But long before I was an X-fan, my love was the Animorphs book series. My favorite character was Tobias ( a boy who got stuck in the shape of a red-tailed hawk for the poor unfortunate souls who don't know). I had a crazy crush on him so that formed the basis of my screen name. That, and I knew I would also read and review in other categories so I made a name that had significance only to me, but could be used anywhere. Glad you asked. I don't have to wonder the origin of YOUR screen name. :)  
  
Persephone- I know all cats believe them selves to be royalty. I assure you. But Princess definitely takes the cake. She is more capricious than even the real royalty in my family's opinion.  
  
Karen in Boston- Hilo! Thank you for reviewing AND e-mailing me. Thanks for all the things you said. I'll take your advice seriously. I will keep updating. Keep on reading. Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
  
I just want to say thank you to all of you out there....those who reviewed and those who only read this! Gold stars and smilee stickers to my reviewers, and silver stars to those who didn't review...Next time please review for me please? I don't have cooties and I don't bite (unless I am provoked but that's another story...). Anywhoozles Read on...And now, on with the story!!!  
  
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Last time on X-Men Evolution: "Oh go on Professor!"(adults board X-Jet.) "Party anyone?"(Ray smirks impishly.(Rogue sighs while watching Kurt and Amanda kiss) "De green eyed monster got y' huh?" (Remy smirks as Rogue scowls.) "The name of the game is truth or dare..." (Tabitha grins evilly and rubs her hands together.)...  
  
Many sharply inhaled breaths and evil and impish grins followed Tabitha's statement. Eyes darted around mischievously and several people giggled nervously at what the blonde haired mutant mischief-maker had just suggested.   
  
"I'll start since the game was my idea," Tabitha smirked. "Hmmm. Kitty! Pick your poison, truth...or dare?"  
  
"Um, like, truth." the brunette Valley-girl giggled.  
  
"Ok, lets see..." Tabitha thought for a moment. She had been hoping the younger girl would choose dare. But hey, this WAS Kitty Pryde here. "Who do you think is the cutest guy in this room and would you ask him out in front of all of us?" Tabitha asked with a quirked eyebrow and pointed grin.  
  
"Um, well the first part is, like, Lance, like, duh! And as to the second part..." she turned to Lance and batted her big baby blue eyes at him. "Lance, would you ,like, go out with me tomorrow night?" The girl giggled at the dazed dreamy expression on the ex-brotherhood boy's face.  
  
"Sure pretty Kitty, anything for you" Lance sighed into her ear as he pulled her closer to him.  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes at the pathetically obvious couple as Kitty snuggled closer to her boyfriend and shot a self-satisfied glance at Tabitha, who had obviously thought that the valley girl would have been way too shy to do that kind of thing publicly. The only one who noticed the pain in the Goth girl's eyes was Remy who had sat next to her deliberately. But he did not embarrass her and say anything about it. She needed her dignity. He would at least allow her that.  
  
"I, like, guess it's my turn. Wanda," Kitty smiled. She turned to the scowling Goth who hadn't really ever played this game before seeing as she had spent the last seven of her sixteen years of life in an asylum her father had locked her in when her 'chaos magic' powers manifested. 'Truth or dare?"  
  
"What do you honestly think I'm going to say, Pryde?" Wanda glared incredulously.   
  
"Um. Dare, I guess..." Kitty stammered as the younger girl rolled her fierce blue-green eyes and nodded. "Ok then," Kitty gained a smirk that would be questionable on anybody but especially on sweet, little, Kitty Pryde who was basically innocence personified. "I, like, totally dare you to kiss Toad. On the lips." She smiled in a very un-Kitty-like and mischievous way at the look of utmost horror on Wanda's face.  
  
The Scarlet Witch grimaced and shuddered but she knew that she would never live it down if she refused a dare when she prided herself on her fearlessness. Her twin brother would never let her hear the end of it. And, like, Pietro, she could never resist a challenge. Must have been something in their blood. Maybe it's a Maximoff thing. Or maybe they got it from Magneto. Who knows.  
  
Anyway, she grumbled and walked over to where Toad a.k.a. Todd Tolansky sat. She pursed her lips, leaned in quick, and pulled back as fast as she could. Then she excused herself and hurried off to the bathroom. The sounds of her furiously brushing her teeth were heard.  
  
Toad, however, looked as if he had melted. His ginormous crush on Wanda was legendary at the institute. The only more reluctant to love girl was Rogue. Yet Wanda had just kissed him. Wanda! He briefly wondered if he was dreaming and decided that if he was, he never wanted to wake up.  
  
Many of the others smiled and smirked at the dopey grin that was plastered on his face. "Yo, thanks Pryde, I owe you." He said, still awestruck and starry eyed. He sighed in the way lovesick teens often do. "She makes a guy want to...brush his teeth. Or maybe even take a shower..." many of the other teens grimaced in disgust at the boy's depressing lack of hygiene.  
  
Wanda reentered the room. She did not look too happy. "My turn. Alright Toad, you slimy little creep. Truth or dare?" she growled menacingly.  
  
"For you, Baby Cakes, I'll pick dare." He grinned as she snarled and restrained herself from hexing the amphibious boy through the wall.  
  
"Alright then," she said icily and with a strangely evil spark in her blue-green eyes. " I dare you to either go return Kitty's favor and go play tonsil hockey with HER or I dare you to learn to keep up with your hygiene which includes a shower every day, wash your disgusting hair daily, and brush those slimy things you call teeth at least three times daily, oh and you have to do that one for at least a month."  
  
Toad stared into the face of the one girl he loved more than anything else in the world for the better part of a year. She had him floored. She knew that he despised Kitty for almost taking Lance away from the Brotherhood that one time, but he also had severe issues with the hygiene thing. It was hard to maintain that sort of thing when one lived with a skin type that secreted slime on an hourly basis. As he pondered which of his choices was the lesser of the two evils, it was discovered that Kitty had mysteriously vanished.  
  
"I guess I have to take option number two, Sweetums." He shrugged. Kitty's head phased back up through the floor and she sighed in extreme relief. She phased her whole body back up into the room and sat down again. "Hmmmm. Who wants to be my next victim, yo?" He surveyed the group and his sickly yellow eyes met the hazel ones of Sam Guthrie (A/N: I think I just killed his last name. Poor Cannonball!). " Ah, Guthrie, Truth or Dare, yo?"   
  
"Uh, truth. Ah guess..." the blond Kentucky native shrugged non-chalantly.  
  
Toad looked thoughtful for a moment. "What is the name of the first girl you ever kissed and what girl here is the hottest, yo?"  
  
The Southern boy blushed and looked at his sneakers, clearly embarrassed. "Uh...Ah've neveh (never) actually kissed anyone."  
  
"Hey man you gotta answer the other part, yo!"  
  
"Huh? Well Ah guess that Ah think Ah kinda-sorta-in-a-way-think-Jubilee's-realleh (really)-cool-and-pretteh (pretty)." The group blinked in amazement. Sam had just spoken as fast, if not faster than, Pietro. All the while, his eyes never left his feet. Even Jubilee who was the dictionary definition of the opposite of shy blushed a little.  
  
"So, it's mah turn now huh? Roberto, truth or dare?"  
  
The Brazilian over-achiever smirked at his friend who still had a bright right blush on his face. "Dare buddy. No such thing as a challenge I won't do."  
  
"Rahght (right) then, Uh...I dare yah ta...uh...sing Avril Lavigne's song "Complicated" in a tele-tubby voice."  
  
"Roberto blinked and did as dared. (A/N: Does that not conjure up a hilarious mental image?) Everyone laughed at the result. ' Right, Jubilee, Truth or Dare?"  
  
She grinned. " Like, dare, duh!"  
  
"Alright Jubes. I dare you to make it so Guthrie can answer the question of who is the first girl he ever kissed."  
  
Jubilee blushed scarlet, though it looked like merely a slight pinkening of her cheeks compared to Sam's facial color.  
  
"I'm, like, not too sure..." she trailed off uncertainly.  
  
"Aw c'mon Jubes!" several of the people around her chorused enthusiastically. Usually Jubilation Lee would be her fiery wise-girl self and be boldly speaking out against all things shy. However, she was currently acting timid and unsure.  
  
"Hey are you okay? Earth to Jubilee!" her friend Bobby Drake said while waving a hand in front of her face. He grimly turned to the group. "See guys!! Jubilee acting shy?!? I tell you it is all-"  
  
"Oh for heavens sake Bobby!" Amara shook her head. "Not the whole alien conspiracy thing again, please? We don't want to hear your theory. We know you think that aliens are taking over the government and are slowly infiltrating our world and all that other stuff but really, enough is enough."  
  
Bobby sighed and looked crestfallen. Everybody always rejected his theories. Especially about alien invasion. Someday he knew he'd prove their existence. Then everyone would be sorry. And wouldn't his friends be proud then? Maybe Amara would never pit herself against him again. If only he could prove it.  
  
"Bobby, I'm sorry but your theories are just crazy. Especially the ones about the aliens and the Red Sox. There are no aliens and the Red Sox will NOT ever win the world Series. It is totally all about the Yankees winning.  
  
Bobby scowled at her while holding a hand over his heart with a pained expression on his face. He felt hurt and betrayed. "I'm hurt Amara. The Sox are so gonna go the distance this year! They have a very good team and it's their year. I can feel it! And you THINK there are no aliens. Someday I'll prove to you-ALL of you that they are real!"  
  
Tabitha leaned over to Amara who happened to be her best friend. "Did he forget the medicine this morning or something?" Then she spoke to Bobby. "Both of you are wrong, Sorry Iceboy, but this is not the Sox year. 'Mara, it isn't the year of the Yankees either. It is all about the Mets this year!" The girl smirked, satisfied, as the two others blanched at her statement.  
  
"Like, you guys are all so wrong!" Kitty protested angrily. "I just know that the Cubs are going to blow your teams out of the water!"  
  
"You follow baseball?" Rogue raised her eyebrows at her best friend.   
  
"Like, yeah. why?" Kitty asked confused.   
  
"Well, Ah always thought yah'd be mo' inta ballet o' somethin', Kit.'  
  
"Well, I, like, have to support the Cubs, you know? They're from my hometown and all. And Daddy loves them so I've been watching games since the day they brought me home. He always wanted a son to watch sports with but he said it was more fun with me cuz he got to explain everything to me."  
  
"The Cubs? Nah. Ah follow the Bulldogs from back home Ah think they're the best." Rogue smirked. ( sorry about the name of the team. I know very little about baseball teams and less about Mississippi so I looked on a web page and found that this is a team in Mississippi. But I do not know if it's pro or not so just pretend they are good if you don't know who they are :]) )  
  
"YOU follow baseball?" several people gasped. Rogue seemed the kind of girl to not give a rats butt about sports, and yet she nodded enthusiastically.   
  
'Yeah. Ah do. Anyone got a problem with that?" the eighteen-year-old Goth girl exclaimed. Everyone quickly shook their head's 'no'.  
  
"Well, Remy follows de 'Scention Braves. (Again, ame story. I know close to nothing about sports in Louisiana so bear with me on the internet info I have not clue if its accurate :[) ) But, as 'musin' as dis all is, dere is still de issue o' de Jubilee fille blushin' an' she still gotta do de dare..."  
  
Jubilee nervously stumbled over to where the poor embarrassed Southern boy sat, studying his shoelaces intently. She gently took his face in her hands and kissed his lips abruptly. Both parties seemed to enjoy it immensely. His eyes widened as sparks were involuntarily emitted from her fingertips. The force of their projection forced each of the two kissing teens away from each other.  
  
Both Jubilee and Sam had sheepish grins on their faces. Their separation was met with catcalls, cheering, and laughter and an eye roll from Rogue who was clearly jealous of her fellow housemates' ability to share even simple touch.  
  
Jubilee grinned, still visibly dazed. She proceeded to ask Jaime the most embarrassing thing of his life. He's only thirteen so it's not too bad. He once threw up on a doctor, but hey he is the baby of the group. (A/N: for now anyway :} ) Jamie then proceeded Rahne to squeak like a mouse and run around in circles in her wolf form. With a raised eyebrow she did as dared.  
  
"Pyro, Truth or dare, Laddie?" She asked the Australian candidly.   
  
He gave her a pitying look. "Dare Sheila. Dare." He then proceeded to terrify the occupants of the room by cackling insanely and flicking the top of his lighter.  
  
"I dare ye te create a couple a fire figures o' the kiss our dear Jubilee and Sam just had."  
  
The Aussie firebug did that happily. The couple in question blushed all over again and it was clear that the kiss was still fresh in their minds.  
  
"Colossus, me mate" Pyro grinned an amusing glint in his big blue eyes. " Truth or dare?" He asked laughing insanely as his fire figures continued to reenact the kiss.  
  
"Truth" the very tall Russian said softly. He looked very uncomfortable.  
  
"What Sheila has had the greatest affect on your life?"  
  
"Vell, their vuss Ilyana..."his steel gray eyes took on a dreamy quality. "She vuss the one who told me zat everything eez the way eet eez for a reason."  
  
Everybody's interest peaked. Nobody had ever heard Piotr Rasputin talk about a girl before.  
  
"Describe her te me, mate! I've never heard ye talk 'bout a Sheila before!" Pyro exclaimed incredulously.  
  
"Vell, she vuss from back in Russia. She vuss pretty and sveet and full of laughter all ze time. She vuss more angelic zen all of Heaven. Our father alvays said zat-"  
  
"Hey! Back up a bit Colossus!" Pyro gaped at his friend. "Ye mean to tell me that the Sheila ye got all misty-eyed over is yer sister?!?!"  
  
"Yes" the tall boy nodded sullenly. "Vhen she died my whole world fell apart. I never vuss involved vith girls again in fear that she would take Ilyana's place in my heart."  
  
"Crikey, I'm sorry, mate." Pyro said sincerely. "I...didn't know..."  
  
"It is alright my comrade. You vere curious. And...It vuss many years ago..."The Russian sighed and looked lost in his thoughts for a moment. Several people shook their heads in sympathy. "Vell, truth or dare Freddy."  
  
It took the very large boy from Texas a few moments to realize that the brooding Russian had addressed him. "Uhhhh." Blob thought hard for a minute or two. He had seen some pretty embarrassing dares, but truths could be just as upsetting. "Um, dare I guess" he figured his chances at getting a scary dare were not too bad with the quiet Russian.  
  
"Vell then, I dare you to prank call the principal of your school."  
  
Blob picked up the phone and dialed Principal Kelly's number. At the same time he was glad it was summer vacation so the man could not give out detentions if he discovered who was calling.   
  
"Hello? Princip-I mean Mr. Kelly? Is your refrigerator running? It is? Oh, then you'd better go catch it!" click. The large boy quickly hung up and looked pleased with himself.  
  
"That was lame." Bobby commented. "I mean, come on! that is the oldest joke in the book!"  
  
"Forget about lame!" Jean shrieked. "That was so irresponsible! How can you just disrespect authority like that Freddy?"  
  
"I dunno." Blob answered honestly. "But I don't think that weasel deserves any respect."  
  
"But, he's the principal!" Jean looked appalled. "Piotr, why did you tell him to do that?"  
  
"Calm down Red it's only a game." Tabitha sneered at the perfect preppy redhead.  
  
Jean merely hyperventilated more. "We're gonna get in so much trouble! Xavier trusted us and then you go and pull this!" She continued ranting until Rogue stood up and got in her face.  
  
"Jean?" The girl asked calmly. "  
  
"What Rogue?" Jean asked irritably.  
  
"Would yah kahndleh (kindly) SHUT UP!?!?" Jean tumbled back a bit in shock. Then she huffed and sat down scowling. Under her breath she kept muttering about how immature everyone was being.  
  
Remy glanced at Rogue in appreciation and awe. She was bursting with self-confidence. Then he realized that it was really all an elaborate act. She was a terrified girl who hid insecurities behind a fearless act. But she really did have guts to stand up to miss prissy Grey all by herself. He definitely liked feisty girls. She was incredibly spunky. He found that attractive. Very attractive. She noticed him staring and glared in response.  
  
"Amanda truth or dare" Amanda smiled at Fred. "I feel like taking a risk, so dare."  
  
"I..uh...dare you to kiss the Blue Boy. Like you would if none of us were here." Blob said all this with a smirk. Surely sweet little Amanda would never be that bold.  
  
"Is that all?" Amanda asked in shock. She had been preparing for the worst when the former brotherhood Boy had picked her. But she was not the shy little girl she had been when she met Kurt. No since they had been living a real life version of Romeo and Juliet (only she hoped they would have a happier ending) she had become emboldened and lost her shyness. She laughed at his bewildered look and walked over to Kurt. She slid into his lap and her arms snaked around his neck. She kissed him gently and he seemed to melt into a puddle of mush.   
  
She smirked and walked back to her own spot on the floor. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she turned to Amara. "Truth or dare Amara?"  
  
The young princess from Nova Roma smiled softly. "I am of the opinion that truth would be the safer option."  
  
"Alright," Amanda smiled gently at the young girl. " Do you like Bobby as in boyfriend material?" A smirked leapt to Amanda's face.  
  
"Yeah I really do." Amara said flirtatiously, while batting her pretty brown eyes at the Bostonian in question. Bobby's pale cheeks took on a slight blush and Remy jokingly patted him on the back.   
  
"Way t' go homme (man)! Dat une be tres jolie. Not as belle as Remy's Chére, mais she be a jolie fille."   
  
At his words Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ah ain't yah dear, Swamp Rat. Don't call meh Chére."  
  
"Y' wound Remy, chére." He held a hand over his heart dramatically. "Y' hurt Remy right here..."  
  
"Mah name ain't chére, Swamp rat." She grumbled. "If yah keep callin' meh that yah gonna have a real wound." She threatened.  
  
"Well dat be okay. Will y' kiss de wound an' make it all better?" He smirked at her little squeak of indignance. "Remy take that as a non, huh?"  
  
"How long does it take ta git a restrainin' order on yah housemate?" Rogue asked the group of others who had abandoned the game to watch the latest installment of "Git away from meh yah stupid Swamp Rat", which seemed to be the favorite soap opera of the occupants of the institute. Everybody could tell Rogue had a thing for him, but she would rather swallow a cow's eyeball before she would admit it to any body-especially herself. And Remy, well, he never gave up. She was the ultimate challenge and he NEVER refused a challenge. "Oh Ah s'pose y'all fahnd (find) this funneh (funny) huh?!"  
  
"Incredibly." Tabitha answered chuckling.   
  
"It takes at least six months to apply for a restraining order, Rogue." Wanda supplied. "And before you or anyone asks. Yes I have looked into it. I have seriously looked into it against my idiot twin and the disgusting little amphibian over there. I still have like a month and a half until mine are activated." The sixteen-year-old smirked at the look Pietro had given her. She ignored the sad squeak Toad gave.  
  
"Is this true, Cuddle bumps? Do you really mean it? Quick! Everyone, Mesmero must have gotten to her! Or maybe Drake's right yo! Its gotta be the aliens! Wanda-kins would never forsake me!"  
  
Wanda looked over at Toad in disgust. Then she turned back to Rogue. "For this case I recommend pushing it on charges of sexual harassment. It'll all go faster and then you won't have to deal with the Cajun ever again.  
  
Rogue smiled and thought for a few moments. Remy scowled at Magneto's daughter. "Look here, fille! Remy does not harass the femme! She ain't neveh told Remy not t' flirt wit' her! An' Remy don't know de belle femme's real name t' call her by it! Not Remy's fault dat she can't take a compliment!"  
  
"It ain't a compliment comin' from yah Swamp Rat! Cuz Ah ain't yah dear!!!! I don' wanna be yah chére!"  
  
"Remy t'inks dat be a double standard, petite!" the Cajun glowered. "Y' kin call Remy whatever de heck y' want but when Remy compliments y', y' complain!"  
  
"Stupid Swamp Rat!!! Ah don't want no compliments from yah!" The girl stood her ground and got in his face. She glared at him defiantly. All five foot six inches and 99 lbs. of her matched against his tall, six foot three inch and 180 lbs frame.  
  
"Chére, Remy's name ain't Swamp Rat. How d' y' 'spect Remy t' call y' by y' name, if y' can' get Remy's name right?" He smirked as she snarled and crossed her arms.  
  
"Cuz Ah said so." She answered with the stubbornness of a three year old. (Yes that is a bit of foreshadowing) Much to her surprise, Remy burst out laughing.  
  
"Can't beat dat logic huh?" He chuckled. "Cuz y' said so? Dat de best y' got fo' dis Cajun, Chére?" He drawled.  
  
"Ah hate yah, Swamp Rat." She stated grumpily.   
  
He smirked warmly at her. "Remy adoréz-vous aussi mon amour. Vous ettes le fleur de mon coeur, ma petite et tres belle Chére. (Remy loves you too, my love. You are the flower of my heart, my little and very beautiful dear)"  
  
Rogue blinked in shock. She understood exactly what he had just said due to the fact that she had lived right across the Mississippi from the Cajuns her whole life and had taken the language in school. She threw him a death glare and responded without missing a beat.  
  
"Mon dieu, je te hais, Remy! (My God! I hate you Remy!)"  
  
Now it was his turn to be shocked but he didn't let it show in his face or body at all. "Tu es comprehendé moi? Tu parles français? (You understand me? You speak French?)"  
  
She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Non. Je parle japonais idiot. Vous toujours demandez telles questions stupides? (No. I am speaking Japanese, idiot. Do you always ask such stupid questions?)"  
  
"Oui mais seulement quand je suis avec vous. Votre beauté fait que me, Chére. (Yes. but only when I am with you. Your beauty does that to me, dear.)" He smirked.  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes and sneered. "Si vous gardez la vocation me cela, je vais vous tuer. (If you keep calling me that I will kill you.)"  
  
"Oh, je suis terrifié. Sûr vous me tuerez. Je vraiment vous crois. Quand même, Remy est grand mais il n'est pas Dieu. N'importe comment beaucoup de filles pensent qu'il est. (Oh, I am terrified. Sure you will kill me. I really believe you. Anyway, Remy is great but he isn't God. No matter how many girls think he is)" Remy said the first part sarcastically and suavely purred the last part.  
  
Rogue again rolled her eyes. "Vous êtes un ver de terre! Vous vraiment pensez que vous êtes le don de Dieu aux femmes fait vous pas? (You are a worm! You really do think you are God's gift to women don't you?)" (A/N: Aw, you mean he isn't?)  
  
"Oui. Remy est tout emballé et attendant en haut son petite chére découvrir que comme tant de filles autres. Remy a même une petite carte et un petit arc que dit, à Rogue avec l'amour. (Yes. Remy is all wrapped up and waiting for his chére to discover that like so many other girls. Remy even has a little card and bow that says, to Rogue with love.)  
  
"Je sais quell genre de don que vous êtes-ils! Vous êtes le don que personne ne veut si que vous recevez tout le monde avez passé au moins une fois. Alors vous finissez par dans quelque endroit caché dans le placard. ( I know what kind of gift you are! You are the gift that nobody wants so you get passed to everybody at least once. Then you end up in some hidden place in the closet.)"  
  
"Qu'était maintenant seulement des moyens. Mais Remy promet que si vous le gardez, vous serez la dernière personne qui reçoit l'actuel jamais. (Now that was just mean. But Remy promises that if you keep him, you'll be the last person who gets the present ever.)' He winked suggestively at her and her eyes got huge.  
  
"Vous le cochon de discusting!! Vous méritez pour mourir pour faire de commentaires comme cela! (You discusting pig!!! You deserve to die for making comments like that!)" She screamed.  
  
Um, RogueJean's telepathic voice broke Rogue's ranting. As fascinating as that was, I believe all of us are getting rather bored and would like to continue the game.  
  
Rogue blinked a few times and calmed down. She had completely forgotten that they were in the rec room with all their housemates surrounding them. She blushed scarlet instantly.  
  
The other teens sat there incredibly amused. They had been viewing each of the two Southerners firing at each other in French like spectators at a tennis match. Not one of them really had a clue what was said since the only ones who spoke French at all were only into their first or second years in school. Also, Remy and Rogue were both fluent so to any normal American, they sounded like they were talking as fast as Pietro did.  
  
"I'm like so totally stupid!" Kitty declared. "Why on Earth did I take Latin and Spanish at school. French would have been more useful." The petite girl pouted.  
  
"Trust me Kitty, it wouldn't have helped." Wanda gave a rare smile. "I have seven years of French from when I was in the asylum and it was like trying to decipher what my brother says when he is on a sugar high. Both of them are fluent. They've been speaking it since they were kids."  
  
"It was very hard. Impossibly. But the basic just of it was that it was an argument." Jean commented. "What were you two going on about anyway?"  
  
"Yeah anyone have a Cajun-to-English dictionary?" Tabitha joked.  
  
"De two o' us were jus' settin' a few t'ings straight mes amis." Remy shrugged impishly. "Ain't dat right...Chérie?"  
  
"Ah have ta ask Sugah, are yah suicidal? Cuz yah really pushin' for death raght (right) now." She asked in a saccharine-sweet voice.  
  
He smirked cockily. "Non y' need dis homme, Chére. Remy ain't neveh gonna leave his belle femme on her own."  
  
Rogue just groaned. "I am sick of this. Lets get back to whatever we were doing prior to that li'l screamin' match, please?" She begged.  
  
"Y' don' remember d' y', Chérie?" he grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Well- we were-playin' trut' ou dare wit' all de ot'ers." He finished lamely at a stern look from Jean. He could've had some fun with that statement of hers but Jean had perused his thoughts and had warned him that Jamie was only thirteen and Rahne was barely fourteen.  
  
"Oh yeah now Ah remembeh (remember). Go on Amara, take yah turn." All the other people laughed and Amara smiled mischievously.  
  
"Bobby? Truth or Dare?" She cooed in a flirty way to her boyfriend.   
  
"Dare. I would not be Robert Adam Drake if I chose anything else, now would I?" He chuckled lightly. His big ice blue eyes twinkled with the mischief that always seemed to surge from the boy who was the unspoken leader of the new recruits.  
  
"No, I guess not." Amara grinned, clearly amused. "I dare you to make a caricature ice sculpture of all of us. And you have to show how you really feel about each of us."  
  
"They don't call me Iceman for nothing!" He said enthusiastically as he set his powers to work. The result was less mobile but no less amusing than Pyro's fire figures. They were constructed next to the person they represented. They emphasized flaws or features Bobby noticed about each person. For example, Jean's was of her in her soccer uniform and holding a tiny round mirror in one hand and a lipstick container in the other, with a stressed facial expression.  
  
"I do Not obsess over my looks!" Jean protested hotly.  
  
"Oh Jean, yah makeup is smudged" Rogue said coyly.  
  
"What! Oh no! What is it? Thanks for telling me Rogue! I owe you! I can't have anything ruin my gorgeous perfect l- Oh. That was NOT funny Rogue."  
  
"Ladies an' Gentleman" Rogue paused. "An' Remy an' Pietro-"  
  
"Dat's mechante Chére!" Remy protested. "Remy be de bes' Sout'ern gen'leman in de Nort'! An' y' go an classify Remy wit' de Speed bump!"  
  
"Whateveh Sugah. As Ah was sayin' befo' Ah was so rudeleh (rudely) interrupted, Ah believe Ah jus' proved a point." She rolled her eyes and glared at Remy and then Jean. Jean hmphed and Bobby continued.  
  
"So Ray, truth or dare?" The boy asked with extreme concentration as he put the finishing touches on the final two figures: himself and a beautifully detailed Amara. Hers was more of a lovely statue than a caricature. Her head was to the side; a gorgeous smile on her face and she was accepting a rose that the ice-Bobby offered to her.  
  
"Dude, do you even have to ask?" Ray flashed his lopsided grin to his friend. He walked over to the bookshelf and removed a dictionary. He flipped the pages and started to read. "Ray Crisp: a devilishly hot guy who has never to this day even considered resisting any sort of challenge, competition, or DARE! Cross-reference; see Daredevil."  
  
"Are you done?" Bobby asked grinning.  
  
"Yeah that about covers it." Ray nodded as he returned the wide grin.  
  
"Good. You probably wouldn't tell the truth anyway. So I take it you just asked for a dare huh?  
  
"You have to ask?" The tall blonde with spiky red highlights smirked with both of his eyebrows raised.  
  
"I should know better by now shouldn't I?" Bobby shook his head in amusement. "Just checking. I dare you to..." Bobby paused, grinning manically. "...to go up to one of the girls' bedrooms. And try on one of their dresses. And come back down here wearing it and acting like said girl."   
  
This statement was met by giggles from the girls. The boys smirked and chuckled. Ray looked a little unnerved but he retreated to the stairs.   
  
As Ray headed up to the dorms, Rogue called after him. "Don't even think 'bout touchin' mah clothes Berserker!"   
  
The group waited patiently. It felt like it was taking forever. The girls were anxious to see whose wardrobe had been ransacked. The guys wanted to tease their friend about him in a dress. When Pyro burst into an insane giggling fit, nobody paid it much heed. But when he was literally rolling on the floor, they looked up and the next second they were all rolling with laughter too. All except for Kitty who buried her face in her hands as she laughed.  
  
Standing in the doorway was Ray, only...not. He was wearing a dress that Kitty's parents had sent for her birthday a year ago. It was pink and flattered her petite frame and figure immeasurably. However it was appalling on Ray, who was a good foot taller than Kitty and was well, a guy lacking any feminine figure whatsoever.  
  
"Like, what do you guys, like, think?" He asked in a mock-up of Kitty's valley-girl way of talking. "Isn't pink, like, so totally, not my color? Well, like, spill! Does this, like, totally make me look fat or what?" He asked, soaking up all the attention and loving every minute of it, even though he was wearing a dress.  
  
Everybody's hysterical laughter followed his comment.  
  
"So can I, like, change back into my normal clothes and, like, stop acting like Pryde?" he begged hopefully. Everybody nodded, unable to talk as they were still howling with laughter.  
  
"Oh and like, Rogue?" He paused at a safe distance while he was halfway up the stairs. "Don't like, worry. I totally didn't touch your clothes. The only dresses you, like, own are, like, all depressing and icksome. Not to mention that I would totally need therapy cuz they are all uglier than sin." He then tore up the stairs as she growled and cast him a death glare.  
  
Shortly afterwards, Ray hurried back down stairs in his normal clothes. "Thanks for the loan Kitty. I didn't ruin it or anything." He smiled softly. "I never want to do that again." he informed his pals. Tabitha looked at her camera and snickered. This was going to be an awesome month. It would surely be full of great photo-ops and black-mail opportunities. (Little does she know how right she is...teehee:]) )  
  
"You would make a lousy girl, buddy," Bobby laughed. "But out of curiosity, why did you go for Kitty's stuff? She is probably the smallest girl here. You are at least a foot taller than her and well, you are no Kitty Pryde. Lets just leave it at that. If I were you, I would've gone for Rogue. She is closer to your height."  
  
"Ok number1.- Kitty is the least likely to murder me. #2.- Rogue's clothes scare me. Number three- Kitty is the easiest to mock. And number 4- Well, lets just say Rogue's style is...different from most of the other girls here. Kind-of, sort-of more...revealing." Ray looked incredibly uncomfortable as Rogue made a tiny noise that was a mix between anger, disbelief, and embarrassment and Remy glared daggers at the younger boy.  
  
"Ok Lance truth or dare?" He said quickly so the topic would be changed.  
  
"Hm?" the older boy looked up. He had basically attached his arm to Kitty's shoulder and he was perfectly content to cuddle his girl friend as close as he could. In fact, to get any closer, she would have had to either sit on his lap or phase into his side.  
  
"Truth or Dare?" Ray repeated while smirking.  
  
"I have seen way too many dares so truth." Lance responded, disinterestedly. He had lost interest in the game for many reasons. For one thing he was all huggy with Kitty. His brain had pretty much turned to mush. Also it was getting late and the younger kids were beginning to look dead on their feet. Yeah, he was a bit irresponsible. Ok, he was the leader of the Brotherhood and as mature as a dead bug a lot of the time. But somewhere in his brain and heart, something forced him to take care of those who need it. One common misconception of him was that he was tough and only looked out for himself. Wrong. He was really honorable and all that. He believed in protecting the weak since nobody had done it for him. He was just forced to live a tough life and hang with the bad boys. But really he was good at heart. And right now, the responsible side of him was screaming at him as he watched Jamie's eyes disappear and reappear at half mast, and occasionally yawn. He knew that the sooner the game ended the sooner the kids could get to sleep.  
  
"We all know you like Kitty and vice-versa. The key question is how far are you going to take the relationship?" an evil grin spread over Ray's face.  
  
Lance blinked and his cheeks gained a bit of color. "Well, I am not exactly sure. I am only nineteen and she is just seventeen. We're kind of young to be thinking about things like levels of relationships. But I know I am willing to spend the rest of forever with her. But I'll leave it up to her since her happiness is all that matters to me. It is her decision." Kitty beamed at him and snuggled her head into his shoulder.  
  
"Pie-Pie-Pietro? truth or d-d-d-d-dare?" Lance asked as he tried and failed to suppress a yawn.  
  
"I-can-never-resist-a-challenge-Avalanche. You-know-that-better-than-anyone" Pietro shook his silver-haired head in pity of his best friend.  
  
"Fine then I dare you to walk-not run-walk, at a normal human speed three times around the room in whatever you are wearing for underwear." Lance mumbled sleepily. A scarlet flush rose to Pietro's albino pale skin. He somewhat hesitantly walked over to the bathroom. A few seconds later he emerged sheepishly. This was very new. Pietro Maximoff was being shy! The girls who had been modestly covering their eyes, peeked expecting the worst. They all dropped their hands in slight surprise.  
  
Pietro stood there wearing a tight, white, muscle shirt and a pair of blue boxer shorts. He was all muscled and toned from his years of playing basketball. He was very evidently self conscious about how he looked to the girls. He tried to act all macho and cocky and proud as usual, by throwing certain girls smirks and winks but it was impossible to miss how his cheeks grew steadily pinker by the millisecond. When his dare was over, he used super speed to go back into the bathroom and put all his normal clothes back on and return. (A/N: okay all you rabid Pietro fans! That was for all of you out there who like the scrawny little Albino. And it is dedicated to Alix by the way. I have nothing against him, but come on people...he is like maybe 16 and his hair is white! Who would date that?! I wouldn't, would you? Seriously if a dude with white hair asked you out what would you say? I mean yeah, he is kinda hot but he is a freaking albino for crying out loud! Ok now that I am done ranting all of you who have drool buckets out can quit for now.)  
  
"Truth or dare, Daniels?" he asked, trying to sound non-chalant.  
  
"I don't trust you Maximoff, truth." Evan calmly told his rival.  
  
"Fine then." Pietro looked slightly put-out but he recovered. " Why don't you have a girl friend?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question, Pietro." Evan glowered. "But I just haven't really met the right girl yet. Gambit truth or dare?"  
  
"Remy's also seen way too many fright'nin' dares. So he t'inks dat trut' be de safer o' de two, non?" The Cajun smirked.  
  
"Fine then." Evan grumbled. "Let me see...Oh yeah, why are you always hangin' around Rogue and bothering her even though she seems to hate you?"  
  
Evan had apparently thought that this would make the older boy a little nervous. He was surprised when the Cajun laughed merrily, causing many of the girls to sigh and giggle.  
  
"Spikey, mon ami, Remy likes de belle fille. "'E enjoys spendin' time wit' 'er. An' Remy always likes a challenge mon ami." He smiled flirtatiously at Rogue who rolled her eyes and groaned. "Chére? Trut' ou dare, ma petite?" he winked suggestively at her.  
  
"Don't call meh that." she growled. Then she batted her emerald orb eyes at him. "Ah know yah won' make meh do anehthin' bad so Ah pick dare, sugah."   
  
"Alright Chére. Remy dares y' t' let him kiss y', petite." At this statement many eyes sprang open. Rogue's own emerald orbs were as wide as dinner plates.  
  
"What!?! Ah can't. Yah idiot! Y'all know that Ah can't kiss anybody! D' y'all wanna end up in a coma?" She was panicking because he didn't look like he was joking and he didn't seem concerned about loosing his memories to Rogue.  
  
"Remy didn't know y' cared, chére." Remy purred into her ear.  
  
"She doesn't!" Scott growled before Rogue could even open her mouth to respond or protest.  
  
"Ja!" Kurt snarled, jumping to his beloved sister's defense. "She just does not vant your deezcusting thoughts in her head!"  
  
"Yeah, Gambit," Jean chided. "Can't you see that Rogue is scared of her power?"  
  
A deadly hush fell over the room....  
  
@@@@@@@@@@  
  
Geez that was a doozy to write! 15 typed pages, wow. I am never going to write another long chapter as long as I live...My fingers are killing me from all that typing.   
  
Lets see, I promised a preview poem didn't I? Well here it goes:  
  
Rogue admits her crush   
  
And turns to mush  
  
A simple kiss,  
  
Creates Romy bliss!  
  
Jean tells a story   
  
that makes Rogue worry,  
  
That her secret is out  
  
And then she shall Pout.  
  
What do you think? How was chapter four? Did you like it? Hate it? Think trained assassin penguins should peck me to death? If so then let me know. Heck Pyro is fire deprived so send the flames. I can take it. Well actually Pyro will...  
  
Wow. In hindsight I see that that was a romantic chapter. What do you think? Is my Lancitty good? How about the Kurmanda? And the Bobby/Amara relationship. And most importantly the Romy!!! I like it but it might just be a Heartsyhawk thing you know?  
  
I thank all of you and now we must discuss something very important. Yes. It is about the lovely little button at the bottom of this page. You know it is there. I know it is there. Lets all stop with the pretending. Denial is not just a river in Egypt you know. Please review!!!! It boosts my self esteem to a happy level. I need new reviews...... 


	4. AH AM NOT SCARED!

Hilo! You have re-entered the crazy world of Heartsyhawk's psycho mind. If you are here by accident, may God have pity on your soul. If you are here cuz you wanna be...Welcome back! This is chapter 4 of "Back in Diapers". Let me see... Oh yes of course, I must get to the shout outs.  
  
Ishandahalf: Hi. Glad you liked the insult fest. That was my favorite part to write. I loved bashing Jean. She is way too preppy and prissy for my comfort so I amuse myself by torturing her and making her act her intelligence which is comparable or less than, a box of dirt. oh wait I am sorry...poor box of dirt. It doesn't deserve to be insulted that viciously. Yeah! I got the "quick like a bunny on crack" comment. I've been meaning to ask, how fast is that? §___§  
  
howlerdrode: Hey, I love your name. Its from Animorphs right? Glad you enjoyed the English translations on the Romy French argument. I did 99% of the translations myself and relied on an online translator for the rest. You want some of the sugar to be broken up?§_§ But I love the sugar! I am addicted to sugar. Romy sweetness is what makes the world go round! But don't you worry your easily influenced head. There will be some good old fashioned quarreling to help neutralize the sweetness. Not negate, just neutralize.  
  
Girl number 1 to lazy to log in: My parents also think I've lost it. I start cracking up as I write this sometimes and I always get strange looks. But hey, Y'all laugh at me for being different, yet I laugh at you cuz you are all the same right? Do not worry, I don't think my OC's are Mary Sues. But I am not totally sure since I am not too sure of the definition of "Mary Sues". Care to enlighten me on what the blood moon bayou they are and what in tarnation is wrong with them? LOL Pietro on a sugar high?! That is fast and it gives me a funny mental picture...  
  
Dukect45: Glad you like the story. Keep reading pleez!  
  
SickmindedSucker: Glad I got your name right. My computer keeps trying to correct it to sickle cell anemia or something so I had to add it to my dictionary. About your never picturing Pietro worrying about his body, think about it. He is a teen. All teens must have SOME insecurities. And I think that a person who cares about their appearance as much as everyone's favorite Maximoff albino does is really insecure about their appearance. I just had to point out that no matter how cocky, macho, or in control people can act, they are always hiding some fear or insecurity. Otherwise I would have to hate him like I do Jean and Scott. And Alix would kill me if I rebelled against her beloved Pietro. Yeah Remy and Rogue fighting is almost always awesome. There is more of it to come. The teens will de-age in the next few chapters. I think you'll like it. There is bundles of baby fights in store for the future. (Or would it be the past LOL?)  
  
Senior Teen Angst: (laughing) Glad you like it. I would have to say you are my most enthusiastic reviewer yet. Hmm, about your question. You can make more than one request in Truth or Dare since I said so. Or at least since Wanda said so...(LOL) So I rule?! Thanks heaps and bundles!   
  
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Glad you like all I did. I will have to try to do that list soon. You aren't the first person to request data like that...  
  
Karen in Boston, again: Yeah, I always try to respond to my reviewers. Readers make my world go round. Besides, it creates an example to the people who don't review. If they want to see their name in bold, they have to drop me a word. I am really sorry about the Red Sox thing. I love the Red Sox. I also fully support Bobby on all of his theories. I just have Bobby get teased by his friends because it will be that much sweeter when he is right...Oops I probably shouldn't have said that...yet anyway...Enjoy this latest installment!  
  
To all of you who read and review, I am bestowing a gold reviewer trophy! If you read it...why the blood moon bayou have you not reviewed? It isn't hard to do! I don't care if you just say something like "Yeah great story update soon" or "ick that was a waste of time" but for crying out loud say something! Ok I am off my rant. Sorry. I just like it when people acknowledge my story's existence. Its like a baby to me and I want it to know that people care!  
  
  
  
Now on with the story!!!  
  
Hah! As if I would forget the disclaimer! If I owned it, why am I writing this at all? If I owned would I not have put season five up yet? If I owned X-men evolution would I not be everybody in the world's favorite fanfic author cuz I could take flattery? Wait hey that is a good idea...If I told you I owned X-men evolution would y'all review? (hides under desk as ominous music plays and I see the big scary lawyers come to my door) NO WAIT I WAS JOKING! I DO NOT OWN X-MEN EVOLUTION! GO AWAY! (the lawyers walk away, disappointed, but murmuring that they'll be back when I slip up) Take that all of you loonies who sit at the computer at your lawyer's side hoping to sue poor little me! I admitted I don't own it. But go ahead sue me anyway. I would really like to see what you can get out of me. I own almost nothing. Though I am hoping that it will gather value so I may buy out Marvel. Ohhhh! I see my sock! The pink sock! Now Marvel will bow down to my might and I shall buy X-Men from them! Oh...nope...sorry false alarm. I found my sister's pink pillow case. Darn I was so close too...  
  
and now on with the story (for real I promise)  
  
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Last time on X-Men Evolution: "The name of the game is truth or dare" (Tabitha grins and rubs her hands together)"I dare you to go up to one of the girls dorms and...""Don't even think about touchin' mah stuff Berserker!"(Rogue calls after Ray's retreating form)(Tabitha snickers after glancing at her camera) "I can never resist a challenge Avalanche, you know that." (Pietro walks around the room three times in his underwear) "Remy likes de belle fille." " Alright chére, Remy dares y' t' let 'im kiss y'" (Rogue panics because of her powers) "Yeah Gambit, can't you see she is scared of her powers?" (a deadly hush falls over the room)  
  
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Rogue could not believe her ears. Jean had just said she was scared. She was most certainly NOT. So she informed everyone. "Ah am NOT scared of mah powehs (powers) Jean." She snarled in a deadly quiet voice.   
  
"Oh, my apologies then Rogue. I must say you are perhaps the best actress I have ever seen. The way you act all witchy and distant, just screams that you are scared of your powers." Jean smirked coyly as she tossed her perfect red hair over her shoulder.  
  
Rogue growled in a way that was definitely reminiscent of Wolverine. "Take that back."  
  
"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" Jean asked in mock innocence.  
  
"Yah stupid red headed..."  
  
Jean's eyes narrowed. " I do not like your tone of voice, Rogue"  
  
"Oh, realleh (really) Ah'm sorreh (sorry) Jeannie," Rogue drawled in a dangerously, saccharin-sweet voice. But Jean, being the pompous, snob she was, took it as sincerity.  
  
"Much better, Rogue. Thank you."  
  
"Go stuff yahself yah stuck-up prep! Yah ain't mah motheh (mother), an' yah ain't got no raght (right) to tell meh what tone of voice Ah can take with yah." She paused admiring the effect of her words. Jean's jaw hung open in shock. " Actualleh (actually) now that Ah think about it, yah an' mah motheh (mother) got somethin' in common. Yah both insufferable red-headed creeps who can't mahnd yah own business an' stay outta mah life!"  
  
"You apologize to Jean. Right now, Rogue!" Scott said nastily to the younger girl.   
  
Rogue was caught off guard by his verbal attack. But she was fast. The only one who knew how much the team leader's words affected the angry Goth was Remy.  
  
"Look Cyke, Ah ain't gonna apologize ta her."  
  
"Rogue, you can't go around thinking you are above the rest of us!" Scott scolded sternly. "And you have no right to compare poor Jean with that...that...woman!"  
  
" Whah (why) not?" Rogue said defiantly. She stood glaring up at Scott's face. Even though she was only five foot six inches and he was at least six feet tall, she was clearly not intimidated. And it was just as obvious that she had him more than a little nervous.  
  
"You have to respect authority Rogue. Jean is older. And she is only looking out for your best interest..."Scott's voice wavered as Rogue nodded and smirked sarcastically.  
  
"Bull-o-nee Scott! Lookin' out fo' mah best interest mah foot! She used the opportunity ta humiliate meh!"  
  
"Well, that was wrong of her but you did just compare her to Mystique! I would be mad too!" Scott said uncertainly.  
  
"If yah'll recall Scott, she said what she said long before Ah brought mah motheh (mother) inta it."  
  
"You still have to respect me Rogue," Jean glared. She had obviously recovered from her shock. " I am after all, older than you." The older girl smugly sneered.  
  
"Oh-for-crying-out-loud!" Pietro snapped at the fighting girls. " First-of-all-Grey,-you-are-only-about-two-months-older-than-her! And-before-you-ask, my-father-had-records-on-all-of-you. But-anyway-that-was-a-viscious-thing-to-say-about-a-girl-who-has-been-your-teammate-for-over-three-years! And-I-personally-agree-about-your-resemblance-to-Mystique. And-it-is-not-just-because-you-both-have-red-hair!" the younger boy stuck out his tongue to show that he was acting as mature as an infant.  
  
"This whole thing is stupid. Ah am not scared of mah powers." Rogue growled finalizing it.  
  
"Den prove it t' Remy, Chére." The Cajun smirked at her.  
  
"You don't have to prove anything Rogue." Scott said protectively as he glared at Remy. (Or at least that is what we can presume he is doing because he is all frowny but we can not see his eyes). "Especially not to Gambit."  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "So now yah on mah side huh?" She glared coolly at her team leader and former crush.  
  
"Well, petite, Remy unde'stands if y' don' wanna do de dare. But dis Cajun certain'y neve' t'ought y' were de kind o' fille t' be scared an' weasel outta a game o' trut' or dare."  
  
Rogue's emerald eyes flashed dangerously. " Cajun. Ah. Am. NOT. Scared of anehthin' (anything). An'," she sighed heavily. " A dare is a dare. So, hurreh (hurry) up an' make mah torture quick".  
  
Remy looked at her, and she sighed pitifully. She gazed at him, looking like she was awaiting a death sentence.  
  
"Remy wouldn' eve' force a fille t' git a kiss in front o' 'er amis." The Cajun smiled warmly and pulled her up after he stood. He gently steered her to bathroom and shut the door behind them. On close examination, he noticed Rogue trembling slightly.  
  
"Relax, petite. Remy not gonna do nuttin' y' not comf't'ble wit'. Jus' calm down un peu. (a little)" He put his arms up to show her he had no intention of hurting her. He focused his red-on-black eyes onto her down cast green ones. " Will dis be y' premiere (first) kiss, chére?" He asked her solemnly.  
  
She sighed and nodded shyly as a blush crept over her pale cheeks. She avoided all eye contact with him as if she were ashamed.  
  
"Remy t'inks 'e got it. Jeannie was wrong. Y' ain' scared o' y' powers. Y' be scared o' kissin', right?" He asked gently as he took her chin in his gloved hand, forcing her to look him directly in the eyes.  
  
"Just git it ovah (over) with Swamp Rat." She muttered as she squeezed her eyes shut as if anticipating immense pain.  
  
Remy did not show his astonishment. This girl had gone from staring down Jean Grey, Cyclops, and even himself, to being timid and terrified in just minutes.  
  
"Well, what are yah waitin' fo'? A declaration from the president?" Rogue asked incredulously as she popped open one eyelid. " Go on."  
  
"Remy not gonna kiss y', Petite.'  
  
"Come again?" Rogue asked, totally bewildered.  
  
"Remy said he ain't gonna kiss y'. Don't want y' first kiss t' be forced. Dat ain't tres romantic Chére." Remy smiled warmly and winked at her. " Remy be a master t'eif, petite, mais he neve' steal a fille's first kiss. Remy wants y' t' enjoy yo' first kiss, not resent it. An' Remy wants y' t' choose de lucky homme."  
  
Rogue sighed sadly. " Sometahmes (sometimes) Ah just wish..."  
  
"Y' wish what, Chére? What does Remy's fille wish?" He urged gently.  
  
"Sometahmes Ah just wish Ah could git close ta someone. But y'all know what happens when Ah do." She gave him a dark look and then glared at her gloved hands. "Ah just wish Ah could be normal for even one day. Things that most people take fo' granted, lahke (like) a simple kiss, holdin' hands or huggin' would be thin's Ah would sell mah rahght (right) arm fo'." She broke off trying hard not to cry. She forced the tears back away from her eyes. She was not supposed to be this emotional, especially in front of a person she was trying so hard to convince her self she hated.  
  
"Aw, poor chére" he said smiling sympathetically. He put an arm around her shoulder. "Chére, b'leive, Remy. He knows what y' be goin' t'rough ain' too fun. When Remy's powers came in dey made it so Remy couldn' touch nuttin' wit' out makin' it go boom. At least y' don' gotta worry 'bout splodin' y' maison (house) ou y' bed every night. Bu' Remy got control an' knows dat y' will too, petite. It on'y be a matter o' time. Remy knows y' gonna hate him but de on'y way t' git it be t'rough practice an' strong will. " He smirked amused. "Y' def'n'tly got de second part already dough."  
  
Rogue sighed. She was getting lost in her thoughts. But when she looked into his ebony and scarlet eyes she felt as though everything was fine. She quickly realized he was using his empathic ability to soothe her. But she did not stop him. It felt pleasant to let her worries and fear roll off of her like water off a duck's back. (A/N: I am aware that Remy has some sort of "charm power" But he isn't using it to manipulate her into liking him or anything. He is just helping her calm down.)   
  
She acknowledged right then and there that as much as she told everybody,. herself included, that she hated Remy and everything about him, she noticed something. This feeling was kind of reminiscent of how she had felt about Scott years ago, only it seemed much sweeter since the affection was being returned this time around. Jean's biting words about her fear came crushing through her brain and the young Goth was struck by sudden inspiration.  
  
"Ah'm not scared" she whispered confidently to herself.  
  
"What was dat Chére," Remy asked gently.  
  
Rogue pulled her green over-shirt of over her head. Remy's eyes widened in a way that would have been comical had she not been so focused on being serious. She put the sleeve of it up to his face and he immediately knew what she was planning.   
  
He backed his face away a little. ' Whoa, Chére," Remy said with alarm in his voice. "Not dat dis Cajun be complainin' bout y' sudden change o' heart, but do y' know what y' doin'?"  
  
"Yeah, Ah'm provin' a point." Rogue said as she nodded and pressed her shirt sleeve back to his face. He slouched against the wall and she stood on her tip-toes and kissed him.  
  
Her kiss was so sweet and innocent and unsure that he just let her kiss him for a few seconds. After that he kissed her back. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. She responded subconsciously. Her arms snaked around his neck. Remy smiled through the kiss.   
  
At first Rogue's mind was wary of the touch and screamed at her to stop. You shouldn't do this, Rogue. One of her psyches from a past absorption warned. But her mind stopped reeling a mile a minute, when it realized that she wasn't hurting him. It sank back and let her enjoy her very first kiss.  
  
Eventually, Remy pulled out of the kiss. He knew that he would eventually deepen it and that would not be proper for a lady's first kiss. So he contented himself by simply looking at her. Her eyes were huge. She had fleeting looks of disappointment, and giddiness chasing each other across her face. But she was using all her will power to suppress the fact that the kiss had obviously been enjoyed.  
  
"Yah stupid Swamp Rat." She tried to growl. But it didn't come out half as menacing as she had hoped since she was still smiling a little. "Were yah tryin' ta suffocate meh?"  
  
"Hey now, Petite, dat ain't nice." Remy crossed his arms smirking, clearly amused. "y' be de one who started it. Remy jus' kissed y' back. An Remy gotta say dat fo' a firs' timer, y' kiss jus' fine, ma belle Chére."  
  
"Whateveh (whatever) Swamp Rat." She grumbled, turning so that her blush stroked cheeks would not be visible to him. "Ah didn't do it cuz Ah lahke (like) yah or nothin'. Ah did it cuz it was a dare an' Ah had ta do it to prove that Ah am not scared of yah." She smirked smugly thinking of how she had just outsmarted him. Or so she thought.  
  
Remy smirked devilishly. "Chére, Remy on'y dared y' t' let him kiss y'. Y' neve' had start nuttin'" He grinned. "Actually now dat Remy t'inks bout it...Remy neve' said dat de kiss had t' be on de lips..."He smirked at the look on her face.  
  
"Aw, shut up yah stupid swamp rat! Don' eveh (ever) trah (try) ta kiss meh again." She muttered angrily.  
  
"Who knew dat de fille was such a lyin' sneak?" Remy joked. He quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Y' enjoyed dat as much if not mo' den Remy did. An don't deny it. Remy kin always tell. Y' emotions mark y' like a neon orange sign Chére. An' Remy be an empath. So he always knows y' emotions."  
  
"Well maybe yah wrong fo' once then" Rogue mumbled coolly. She searched in the cabinet for something.  
  
"Fille, de powers don' lie t' Remy. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt y' know."  
  
"Yeah an' Pain ain't just the little creepy pink thing that serves Hades in that Disney movie, Hercules, sugah." She warned menacingly. Remy sighed but took a discreet step away. " That was about as enjoyable as, Ah don' know, about as enjoyable as shoppin' with Kit an' Jean!"  
  
Remy smirked. "Dat fun huh?"  
  
Rogue gaped at him. He seemed serious. " Have yah eve' gone shoppin' with either o' them?" She said in extreme confusion.  
  
"Not Remy personally, non. But dat Avalanche boy done dat plenty."  
  
"Oh that 'splains it then. He is Kit's boyfriend." She nodded in comprehension.  
  
"Not dat. De boy says dat dey try on half a billion outfits, an' dey would ask his 'pinion a lot. Which means dat he got t' see de deux (two) o' dem in everyt'in from bat'in suits, t' formal dresses, t' summer clot'es."  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ah shoulda known the answer ta that one shouldn't Ah have? If a teenage guy is involved then the reason is always perverted ain't it?"  
  
"Remy be insulted. Us guys ain't just int' dat stuff. Ok. So Remy gits de 'pinion dat y' don' like t' shop. Why not? Ain't that a thing all filles (girls) like?"  
  
"Ugh, Gag me! No! Not all girls like shoppin'! I hate it. Way too maneh (many) preps and creeps. And people too. There's always people at shoppin' places. An' yah know how Ah am about the whole touchin' thing." She looked bitterly at the black gloves encasing her hands."  
  
"Oui, (yes) Remy knows dat hurts. Y' want Remy t' kiss y' again and make it better?" He asked coyly.  
  
"NO!" She yelped. "That whole thing was nasteh (nasty)! Don't yah eve' think about kissin' meh again! That was just...gross." Rogue grumbled as she pulled her toothbrush off the rack over the sink and brushed her teeth furiously. Then she grabbed the mouthwash she had found in the cabinet and rinsed twice.  
  
He shook his head and smirked. "Chére, Remy wonders 'bout y'. De on'y place on y' mout' Remy touched was y' lips. An de shirt sleeve was between y' lips an' Remy's. But Remy didn' even come close t' y' teeth ou de inside o' y' mout'." He said all this in that infuriatingly calm way that irked her to no end.  
  
His calmness seemed to make her grow fidgety and unexplainably angry. She slammed her toothbrush back into the rack and savagely scowled as she threw the door open. The force of the door knocked Kurt and Kitty to their feet as they had obviously waited by the door for her to come out.  
  
The majority of the teens who had been playing truth or dare had crowded around the door to the bathroom. Some were hoping for the juicy details. Others were concerned for Rogue. Still others were anxious to see if Remy was unconscious. The people who were curious about Remy were mostly the ones who wanted him to be unconscious. However a few did not want any harm to have come to him. Some of that number were his buddies. The rest were the ones who did not want him to have kissed her at all.  
  
"He ees not unconscious!" Kurt beamed. "Yes! Zat means he did not keess her!" Kurt climbed to his feet smiling.  
  
"Oh. Like, darn." Kitty pouted.  
  
"Unless he did kiss her..." Tabitha's mischievous blue eyes were big and round. "Rogue, why aren't you wearing your over-shirt? And even better, why is it on the floor?" Tabitha gasped. "Oh my gosh! He did kiss her! I know he did! She's all blushing and...Oh Holy mother of Multiple (Jamie for the uninformed)! He's immune to her powers! Oh my gosh! Everyone lay eyes on the hottie who broke through Rogue's emotional barriers! But wait, we'd have been told by Xavier that he was immune. So that means she...has control over her powers! He kissed her and she is not unconscious!" Tabitha had completely lost her head. She seemed so excited.   
  
Rogue hid how much these statements hurt. She and Remy both knew that she did not have control. She was horrified by Tabby's reaction though. Rogue turned to Remy, who was basking in all the attention. He made absolutely no move to correct all the gushing girls, and those like Kurt who were speechlessly mouthing like fish out of water.  
  
:"No everybody, you have it all wrong. He did not kiss her." Jean informed the group. Rogue smiled appreciatively at the older girl. Jean had obviously seen the horrified look on Rogue's face and read it properly. Rogue was instantly sorry for all the things she had said to the older girl. As she opened her mouth to apologize for comparing Jean to her awful mother, Mystique, Jean continued.  
  
"He did not kiss her, guys." Jean smirked coyly. "Lay off him guys. She kissed him."  
  
Rogue's face went from very white to very in seconds flat. All her friends and fellow X-Men and Amanda just gaped at her. She tried to say something, anything. But words failed her. Everyone's wide eyes and dropped jaws were to much to handle.  
  
She felt the tears threaten to fall from her eyes and she stubbornly forced them back. She stood tall and proud with the scraps of dignity she still possessed and walked calmly past everyone, with her head held high. She climbed the stairs and willed the tears to remain in her eyes. She walked to the room that she and Kitty shared. A few moments later the people in the rec room heard a door slam loudly and a muffled thump told them that Rogue had thrown herself onto her bed.  
  
"Aw, Chére!" Remy cried and hurried up the stairs to comfort her.  
  
Kitty watched the whole scene of events unfold.  
  
"Oh darn it all!" Tabby pouted. "Now we'll never find out what happened for real. Look what you went and did Red," she glowered at the older girl.  
  
Kitty smirked that smirk that would not have been out of character for Pietro once again. "Guys, they are like, so totally going to like, assassinate me. But I have a way to know exactly what happened..."  
  
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So how was that? I tried my hand at a major Jean bashing scene AND an explosion of Romy in the same chapter. Let me know how it was. The major fluffy Romyness was inspired by Valentines day. Also it will probably be the biggest Xplosion of Romance for a little while. Because as one of my reviewer's says I have too much "sugar" So you can all be mad at howlerdrode for the fact that the romantic stuff will be delayed for a chapter or two. But do not stop reading! I promise it will still be funny and sweet and all that, just a chapter to let all this "sugar" settle. Of course there will still be flirtiness and sweetness and stuff but not a huge scene.   
  
So Happy Valentines day to all of my beloved readers and reviewers. Within the week I will be posting my Valentine's Romy deal witch will be packed with Romy fluffiness!  
  
So what DID you think of this? Like it? Hate it? Think trained assassin penguins should peck me to death? Tell me for the love of Mystique! TELL ME! I am on February Break so I will be posting some other stories too...  
  
Ok. Chapter five completed Friday, February 13th. Luv y'all for reading and reviewing.  
  
§____§ Heartsyhawk §____§ 


	5. DUMB OLD SWAMP RAT!

"Ello Mon, amis! Heartsyhawk is back in action! I love Everything about February break! So much writing time! Yippee! Anywhoozles, Welcome to chapter six! Plan for a small chance of Romy showers, with Pietro causing winds up to 60 miles per hour, and in along with the Romy showers, some areas will experience hailstorms of Kurt being an overprotective brother. And in other news...I am hyper! I just got back from my best friend Sam's birthday party. I have had so much soda and cake I could probably give Pietro a run for his money! (hah hah LOL get it? A run for his money! ) Ok in all seriousness, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter.   
  
Disclaimer: (looks around) Hmmm, band-aids, dishes from dinner, Alix's teddy bear, pokémon cards...Hm I knew I put those legal documents proclaiming that X-Men is now mine somewhere....hmmm. Where did they go?....Oh YEAH! I never got them, because DUH, I still do not own X-Men! (cries miserably) Why? Why? Why can't I find that dratted pink sock?!!!! Maybe things'll change....someday...  
  
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shout outs-  
  
Dukect45: When do they go back to being babies? I promise its coming up. Stick with me until then, I think you'll appreciate it more when it happens.  
  
Ishandahalf: (LOL) Yeah, I want Jean to die too...But torturing her is too much fun so I guess I have to keep her around, for a little while ("innocent grin") Yeah Rogue does have her own share of hardships doesn't she? (She also has enough for Jean and Scott and Kitty and Xavier, and Kurt, and the new recruits, and-you get my point. Poor Rogue.)Hmmm...Revenge.....  
  
xmengirlzrule: I'm glad you like it. I will do my best to hurry.  
  
SickmindedSucker: Oh don't you worry, Jean will so be put into her place...Than for all you said. The Jean bashing was really fun to write. I'm glad you're looking forward to the whole baby issue as much as I am. (here)  
  
Girl number 1: (Laughing) Thank you. Glad you like it. Thank you so much for help with the Mary-Sue thing. I understand much better now. Do not worry. These girls may sound close, but I will do my best to keep them from being (shudders) Mary-Sues. (gulps nervously) A w-whole army of Mary Sues? Ack I updated, I updated! Don't send the perfect little buggers after me! HELP ME! Was this fast enough? If not for next time I could borrow some of Pietro's power just keep the Jean wannabe's at bay! By the way I totally agree with you about Rogue. She does totally RULE! I have a question for you. From the description of a Mary-Sue, I really wonder. Does this mean Jean is one of those nasty little monsters?  
  
Vaillance: Glad you like this. Thanx it was fun to write. Best argument dialogue?! I'm flattered!  
  
howlerdrode: Yep, eventually Rogue is gonna hafta get Jean's sorry rear back big time...But does poor Roguey need her royal prissiness' psyche in her head?  
  
FortressofSolitude: Hope I got your name right. I love the name by the way. Wasn't that the name of Superman's hideaway? I like DC as well as Marvel comics. Yep, the pink sock IS magical. When I have it I will have the power to control the minds of the lawyers at Marvel and they will give me the X-men. So you like this, glad to hear it. Good question, why does fiction separate everything? Life is one big melting pot. So the Romyness is like a tennis match, huh? So who are you rooting for? Between you and me, my money's on Rogue (But my heart's on Remy 8)  
  
So on with the story my pals! Wheeeeeeee!  
  
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Last time on X-Men Evolution....  
  
"Take that back!" "Oh did I strike a nerve?" (Jean tosses her hair over her shoulder) "Go stuff yahself yah stupid prep!" "Apologize to Jean. Right NOW" "Bull-o-nee Scott! Lookin' out fo' mah best interest mah foot!" "Prove it t' Remy, Chére" "Remy ain't gonna do nuttin' y' ain' comf't'ble wit'." (Rogue put the sleeve to his face...and kissed him) "He did not kiss her" (Jean smirks) " Lay off him, she kissed him." (Rogue calmly goes to her room and slams the door.) "Aw chére!" (Remy chases after her and Kitty smirks. ) "Guys, they are like, so totally going to assassinate me, but I have a way to know exactly what happened..."  
  
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Kitty walked to the bathroom and went inside. She came back out with Evan's video camera.  
  
"Gambit told me, like, what he was going to dare Rogue to do. So I, like had Pietro plant the camera during his dare, along with a hologram to disguise it as a tissue box. I had to capture the whole thing." Kitty grinned guiltily. "Hey, like, don't look at me that way! You, like, think I would miss my best friend's first kiss?"  
  
Evan grabbed his beloved camera from Kitty. He seemed speechless due to the fact that she has let the stupid albino creep touch his baby. Tabitha shook her head in exasperation and pulled out the tape. She mumbled about how idiotic guys could get over their stuff as she popped the tape into the VCR.  
  
The group watched intently as Remy gave his spiel about not wanting to steal her first kiss away from her by force. The girls all squealed in delight about how romantic the gesture was, and how Remy really was Prince Charming in a Trench Coat. The guys just gagged at how disgustingly, sickeningly sweet it was. (A/N: ring any bells? *cough.howlerdrode.cough.cough.* Wow excuse me. I think I need a cough drop. *smirks*)  
  
"AWWWW, that was like, so totally, definitely the sweetest thing I've ever heard! Who knew that the Cajun could be so noble and, like, totally sensitive" Kitty gushed and giggled.  
  
However, when a few moments later, Rogue peeled off her over shirt and tentatively leaned up to meet the Cajun's lips, Kurt choked and hit the floor. He had rolled off the chair he had sat in to watch the movie in horrified shock. Scott's mouth dropped. It would almost have been comical. Almost.  
  
"Hey, Cyke, close your mouth," Tabitha joked. "You're gonna start catching more flies than Toad here." Scott blinked and shut his mouth but his eyebrows were still hidden in his hairline somewhere.  
  
"How could she?" He gaped at the image which had been paused so everyone could see that they weren't dreaming. "She is kissing the leader of the freaking Acolyte's! This is not the Rogue I know." Pyro and Colossus threw him a dirty look. "Look at her she's...she's ACK!" He dropped off, unable to describe Rogue's crime.  
  
"Hey, mate, no need to be talking like its such a bad thing! Just cuz me and me mates served time under Magneto, don't always make us the bad guys!" Pyro fumed angrily. " We joined yer side, bloke. And Gambit ain't so bad. He ain't never hurt a Sheila."  
  
"Well maybe I wouldn't have to worry about you three if you had proved to be trustworthy!" Scott growled at the Australian.  
  
St. John shook his head. "Crikey! I swear, with you X-Men you light the stupid table on fire just once and yer public enemy number one. Look that was an accident. I am only Seventeen! I do not have full control of me powers mate! There were all them candles and I just lost control of meself. But that still ain't any excuse to be all high and mighty about me bes' mate Remy getting close to yer depressed Sheila!"  
  
"Excuse me?" Jean snapped. "Rogue is NOT depressed."  
  
"Anyone close to the gal can see it." Pyro retorted. "Just ask the Kitty Cat Sheila if ya need proof. Or Magneto's lovely li'l dipper ( not too sure but I think that is Aussie slang for little girl. If its not and you are Australian and find it offensive I am REALLY sorry. If its wrong blame the Wild Thornberries on Nickelodeon). Either of those two can see it I know it."  
  
"You know Jean, he is, like, kinda right." Kitty said tentatively. She was obviously edgy about getting into this argument. "Rogue has been really miserable and upset and depressed about everything that's, like, been happening lately. You know, since we defeated Apocalypse and Mystique and Magneto disappeared? She blames herself, and, like, nobody except Kurt really thanked her for saving the world. And then the brotherhood and Acolytes all moved in with us and, like, the only person who really pays her total attention is Remy. And she is, like, totally obviously trying to deny how much she really likes the attention from him."  
  
"Hmph. The only reason that jerk pays attention to her is because he wants to get close to her, get into her pants, then dump her after he can claim he's the first to break through her emotional barrier!" Scott exclaimed vehemently.   
  
"Now that ain't true and you know it!" Pyro snarled angrily. "Remy don't want to hurt her! He's gotten smashed and let slip his feelings 'bout your precious li'l loner. He also had some heart to hearts with me and me metal mate bout when he fell for her. She started as a challenge but I'll eat me lighter if he ain't been over the moon about her since that time he brought her down to N'awlins for Mardi Gras!"  
  
Scott scoffed again. "Kidnapped and used her don't you mean?"  
  
"Scott hush I have a question" Jean silenced her boyfriend, shocking the bejeebers out of everyone especially Scott. " Ok, Pyro, Kitty, if Rogue has been so upset lately, why wouldn't she come to me?" Her green eyes filled with unshed tears. "I care so much about the welfare of my teammates! I know what's best for everyone, including her!"  
  
Before anyone could answer. Wanda growled at the older girl. "Lets see, maybe its because you are a stuck-up, prissy, little, perfect, preppy princess who thinks she knows what's best for everybody, including some people you don't know one flipping detail about, and a girl whom you constantly degrade and don't even know when she is depressed. Could that have anything to do with it? Hmmmm? Oh and while you're at it quit with the crocodile tears will you? We all know its an act. You care about Rogue as much as I want to be locked up in a room full of rabid rats and snakes."  
  
Jean opened her mouth as if to respond. But she decided she was not going to dignify Wanda with a response. She "hmphed" and went up to her bedroom. Scott scowled at his teammates and stalked off to the boy's dormitories.  
  
Kitty shook her head and sighed. She looked at Kurt who had still not moved from his spot on the floor-or closed his mouth.  
  
"Mein seester!" He gasped stupidly as if he had only just now regained his ability to speak. " She....he...they...The Cajun must have mind control powers. Zat ees ze only explanation. Zere is no other way Rogue would have done zat of her own free will. Or maybe Bobby ees right. Yes. I guess it could also be ze aliens." The blue, fuzzy, German looked at his friend with new respect. "Maybe he has been right all along. I shall be rooting for ze Red Sock's in ze next World Series, Bobby."  
  
"Yes!" Bobby cheered. "A new believer is born! Trust me buddy, they are going to dominate this year!" (A/N: take note of who I support...)  
  
"Look-Kurt-you-think-that-Rogue-would-never-do-that-on-her-own-"Pietro started in his usual speed talk.   
  
"And, yet, she did." Wanda finished, cutting her twin off.  
  
"Like, don't do that!" Kitty shuddered.   
  
"Do what?" Pietro and Wanda said at the same time.  
  
"The whole creepy twin thing where you finish each other's sentences!" Kitty explained. "Its like totally creepy and not natural!"  
  
The twins looked at each other. Pietro looked astonished. "You-know,-Wanda-its-been-about-seven-years-since-we-last-did-that!"  
  
Wanda smiled slightly. "Why did we stop?" She asked. "I remember we used to drive father crazy with it."  
  
Pietro froze in place. Wanda still had some of her real memories. But she still had no idea that she, and Magneto, and he, Pietro, had never really been the happy family she remembered. She had no clue that Magneto had had her locked away in an insane asylum/ hospital thing for the last seven years of her life. Of course, he felt awfully guilty lying to her. I mean, for the love of pixie-stix, she is his twin sister! She was under the impression that life had been perfect. And he did nothing to change her impression after their father had gotten Mastermind to mess around with her memories so she would not remember the asylum. Instead of answering, he shrugged not committing to anything.   
  
Wanda frowned and tried to remember the reason. Of course everyone knew the real reason, but she was so much happier now so everyone guiltily looked away from her.  
  
"Hm, oh well. Anyway, back to what we were saying, Kurt, you think that Rogue would never kiss Gambit. And yet she clearly did." Wanda stated calmly. "Look, she's obviously happy with him. Look at that smile on her face if you don't believe me. But she doesn't know how we'll react. Can't honestly say I blame her, look at how Summers reacted! Lets seriously just drop this whole thing. And let's definitely not mention the contents of this tape to either of them."  
  
"Yeah, like, it is totally nice to see Rogue all smilee and romantic. I think we should support her and Remy's relationship. And Kurt don't worry. I, like, don't think he wants to hurt her."  
  
"Thanks a bundle Sheilas!" Pyro said enthusiastically. "Give me best mate a fair chance! And if he hurts the Sheila, I'll light him on fire for you."  
  
"Oh he won't hurt her. I swear if he does, I'll hex him six ways from Sunday." Wanda smirked. "Or Kitty will phase him halfway through a wall or any of the rest of us will cause his pathetically romantic Cajun rear some serious harm."  
  
"Darned straight!" Kurt snarled, reminding everyone of Wolverine before his first four mugs of coffee.  
  
"So, like, lets get back to the game shall we?" Kitty smiled sweetly.  
  
"Uh, guys?" Lance said groggily. He pointed over to Jamie and Rahne who had fallen asleep sitting in front of the couch using each other's shoulders as pillows. "Maybe we should just forget about this. Those two are exhausted and they are not the only ones. We are up a little late."  
  
Everyone nodded and Lance picked up the sleeping thirteen year old boy and Colossus picked up Rahne. The two older boys brought the sleeping youngsters into their respective bedrooms and then they went to their own rooms.  
  
"Oh wow, its so late. I'd better get home before Mom and Dad send out a search party." Amanda kissed Kurt on the cheek. "Good night Kurt. See you tomorrow maybe."  
  
"Do you want to have breakfast with us tomorrow?" Kurt asked eagerly. He obviously did not want to spend more time than he had to away from her.   
  
"Sure. Its a date." Amanda smiled and then left. Everybody said their good-byes and headed up to their own rooms to get to sleep.  
  
**********SIMULTANEOUSLY**********  
  
"Chére, kin Remy come in?" the Cajun pleaded from outside the locked door to Rogue's room.  
  
"NO!" She screamed through the door. "Go away an' leave meh alone!" The way the Southerner's voice shook it sounded like she was crying.  
  
"Y' give Remy no ot'er choice den, Chére." A few seconds later he had picked the lock to her door and barged in like he owned the place. She looked up from what she was doing and scowled. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping he hadn't seen that display of what she saw as weakness.  
  
Whah (why) didn't yah help meh outta that down there? Yah knew Ah was uncomfortable!" She threw him a death glare.  
  
"But, y' did kiss Remy, dough (though)."  
  
"Whah (why) didn't yah lah (lie) then?" She glared at him stubbornly.  
  
"Dat be somet'in' y' don' see every day. Une X-fille encouraging someone t' lie." He smirked in clear amusement.  
  
"Oh shut up, swamp rat!" She grumbled. " Besides. I was with the Brotherhood Boys befo' Ah was with the X-men an' some habits dah (die) hard. Actually Ah hate lahin' (lying) and Ah hate anybodeh (anybody) who lahs (lies) ta meh but Ah woulda (would have) made an exception."  
  
He came over next to her and looked over her shoulder to see what she was doing that commanded more attention from her than he did.   
  
"Dat be pretty impressive Chére," he complimented as he eyed the drawing she had sketched of their kiss. "De subject be one Remy wouldn't mind repeatin' eit'er."  
  
She noticed him behind her and hurriedly covered the picture. She scowled and blushed all at once, and Remy couldn't help thinking that she was cute when she did that.  
  
"Y' ain't got nuttin' t' hide, Rogue." He lectured as he tugged the sketch book away from her panicked grip.  
  
"Ah don't care! Yah can't see this. Its mahne (mine)! Stupid Swamp Rat!" She spat it like a curse as she tried to keep him from getting it.  
  
"Remy knows dat, silly fille!" He laughed. "Jus' let Remy see de pictures!" He pouted as she shook her head no. Then he smirked as an idea formed.   
  
"Y' ticklish, Chére?" He said suavely as her face contorted in recognition.   
  
"Yah wouldn't dare..." She trailed off nervously.  
  
"What wouldn't Remy dare t' do? Dis?" With that he pounced and pinned her down. Then he began to tickle her sides mercilessly.   
  
She shrieked with laughter and tried to wriggle away. And she failed miserably.  
  
"Lemme go! Lemme go!" She choked out between bursts of laughter.  
  
"Nope. Not till y' say uncle, Chére!" Remy smiled warmly. "Remy be havin' too much fun." He continued tickling her sides.  
  
"Fine, uncle Chére. Yah happy now?" Rogue gasped as the tickling continued and her sides ached from the laughter.  
  
"Dat be close 'nuff, Remy guesses." The Cajun smirked and tickled her one more time before he allowed her to roll out of his reach and sit up. "So does dat mean dat Remy be y' Chér den, Petite?"  
  
She was still giggly and breathing heavy from the tickling. He saw the smile that graced her pale face. He moved closer to her and lifted her chin with his gloved hand. "Dat makes y' look tres belle (very beautiful). Y' ought t' do dat mo' often."  
  
"What, let yah tickle meh ta the point o' pain?" She questioned incredulously. She rubbed her sides gingerly. To her great surprise, he chuckled.  
  
"No ma Chére ( my dear)! Remy meant de smile. It lights up y' whole face. Y' look like une angélé (an angel) when y' smile like dat. C'est plus joli qu'un arc-en-ciel dans le printemps. (It is prettier than a rainbow in the spring time). Y' smile in dat innocent way dat 'minds Remy o un bébé. (a baby)."  
  
"Well smiling is a sign of emotion. And emotion is a weakness." Rogue said bitterly.  
  
"Why Rogue?" He tilted his head to the side. "What on eart' would make y' t'ink dat?"  
  
"Yah emotions allow othehs (others) to know how yah feel. It makes it easieh (easier) ta git...hurt. Especially bah (by) the people who yah trust the most."  
  
"Let Remy guess, Mystique?" Remy asked as he stroked her hair, seeing the tears that were welling up.  
  
"Em-Hm." She sniffled, cursing her weakness and the tears that she was barely retaining. Normally she prided herself on being detached from her emotions, but something about the persistent Swamp Rat made her feel vulnerable, yet safe while in his presence. And she hated this whole thing. She wanted to be distant--separate from these painful emotions. "But not just her."  
  
"Cyclops, huh?" Remy asked sagely. His empathy was overloading him with seas of mixed emotions and he pitied her. But he let her keep her dignity and didn't tell her. She made it well known to him that she hated pity.  
  
She nodded and sighed. She clutched her sketch pad closer to her.  
  
"Not so fast." He held out his hand. "Kin Remy please see de pictures? Bet y' a great artist, Chére."  
  
"Fine" she acquiesced reluctantly. She scooted next to him and opened the cover. "Ah use this ta work out mah feelin's. Ah stahted (started) it bah (by) drawin' all mah teammates. Fihst (First) the brothehhood (brotherhood) boys and then the X-men. And then, Ah drew the New Recruits an' Wanda an' yah three Acolytes, when yah joined ouah (our) team."   
  
He smirked at how her accent thickened noticeably as her emotions did. She showed him each respective portrait and told a little bit about it. Each showed the person it was of doing something that reminded her of that person.   
  
Toad's was of him jumping into the air and catching a fly. "Ah've always thought he's so disgustin'." She frowned. "Real sweet an' persistent, bu' disgustin' none the less."   
  
Lance's was of the older boy holding a picture of Kitty, with his guitar on the strap around his neck, and an expression that gave away how he felt about the younger Valley-girl X-gal. "Yah know, he's always drooled ovah (over) Kit. Even befo' they came ta Bayville" The gothic mutant smiled fondly and then frowned in repulsion. "Way too mushy if yah ask meh."  
  
Blob's picture was of the over-weight Texan standing in front of a now empty fridge. "Neveh (never) liked Freddeh (Freddy) much. We never got along. Poor moron even had this majah (major) crush on Jean." Rogue spat that name as if she feared it would poison her. Remy smirked.  
  
Pietro's picture was a scene from the fantasies of most girls. He was sitting in between two cheerleaders and another jockette was behind him while a girl who could be recognized as Taryn (A/N: Jean's backstabbing little witch of a friend who dated Scott for a while) sat at his feet. "Is there anehthin' (anything) that kin be said 'bout Pietro?" Rogue laughed fondly of her friend. But an odd gleam in her eyes clearly radiated jealousy. Not that Pietro had so much attention, and she certainly obviously had about as much interest in Pietro romantically as she had interest in being eaten alive by cannibals, but the fact that he could touch (and definitely took advantage of that ability on a routine basis) clearly got under her skin.  
  
"Non, nuttin' kin be said fo' dat garçon (boy), Chére. Quickie be un of a kind an' Remy t'anks God fo' dat on a nightly basis." Remy laughed. Then he threw an arm comfortably around Rogue's shoulder. " An' dose filles don' hold a candle t' de une Remy be lookin' at right now." He whispered huskily.  
  
"Stop. Yah makin' meh blush Sugah (Sugar)!" Rogue smiled.  
  
"Sugah?!?" He asked with both his eyebrows hidden in his hairline. "D' Remy's ears deceive him? Did y' just call Remy de 'quivelant o' Chére in y' own special way?" He smirked as she flushed bright red.  
  
"No! Ah...uh...Ah meant Swamp Rat" She said lamely. Hoping to change the topic and divert his eerie smirk she turned the page. A picture of her and Scott cuddling close in the x-jet was the first they saw. Remy didn't even need the empathic signals he was getting from her to tell how sad the image made her. On the next page she had sketched a picture of Scott in a Napoleonic pose with the flag of the U.S. behind him. "Yah know, he was the reason Ah joined the X-men. Kinda sad. But Ah thought he cared 'bout meh. But he always liked his precious li'l Jean." She said all this quietly and she turned the page.  
  
"If yah don't know mah 'pinion o' her then yah got brain trouble." Rogue growled bitterly as a portrait of Jean in a queen's wardrobe with both Duncan and Scott, dressed as servants, kissing her high heels was shown to the two of them.   
  
"Well, Remy not stupid, Chére." He smirked, amused.   
  
The next page had a picture of Kurt doing his "party dance" (A/N: You all know what I'm talking about. Its the dance where he got on the table during the "Middleverse" episode.)   
  
"This one always makes meh laugh." Rogue said and chuckled. "He is too funny for his own good. Too bad he got Mystique for a mama. He has such a great sense fo humor and he is so sweet." She gushed.  
  
"Y' talkin' bout him very fondly" Remy pointed out suspiciously.  
  
"Yah jealous o' mah li'l brotheh (brother)?" She failed at hiding a grin. "He's mah onleh (only) real family, so Ah hafta like him." She suppressed a giggle as Remy's face relaxed, relief etched all over.  
  
Turning the page showed Kitty in a store and a figure who resembled Lance was carrying a ton of bags and boxes while Kitty was happily eyeing a clothes rack with a credit card that read Lance Alvers on the front, in her hand. "Kit's anotheh (another) one o' the preps. But she ain't so bad. But Ah swear, Lawrd (Lord) onleh (only) knows whah (why) weh (we are) best friends. Weh (we are) as differen' as chalk and cheese. (A/N: ten points to who can tell me what cartoon this is from :} One hint its animé )." Remy chortled and shook his head.  
  
They passed the page where Evan was skating down the railing on the stairs at school. (A/N: Can any of you skater peoples out there tell me what this is?) "Evan's ok. A li'l immature an' a lot obsessed 'bout skatin' but hey, to each, his or her own, right?" She shrugged and they got through the New Recruits without comment until they got to Bobby. "Yah know, Ah don't even know if Ah should tell yah this but he had a majah (major) crush on meh when he fihst (first) got heh (here). He was so goofeh an' Ah onleh figured it out cuz Ah absorbed him." Rogue smiled and shook her head. "Silly kid."  
  
The next page was Jamie.   
  
"Isn't he just so sweet and cute?" She said enthusiastically. "He had a crush too. And he was brave enough to tell me himself." She noticed Remy pouting jealously and cracked up. "That is priceless! Remy LeBeau, self-appointed King o' Hearts, is jealous of a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD!!!" She fell back onto her bed cracking up. " Sugah, he's mo' of a li'l brotheh (brother) ta meh than even Kurt! The onleh (only) threat he poses ta yah is if yah inta the Poweh Rangehs (Power Rangers) or yah playing hide-n-seek! Or if yah challenge the kid at Pokemon cards. I swear he is unbeatable."  
  
"Hey, dere ain't no card game dat Remy ain't de master o', Petite." Remy smirked. "Who did y' t'ink taught de li'l homme (guy) t' play dat game?"  
  
"Yah play Pokémon?" Rogue raised one eyebrow. He nodded in that cocky way he has that only he can pull off as cocky and sincere at the same time. "What do yah play with?" She asked.   
  
"Dis an' Dat." He shrugged. "Remy formed his own deck an' was de champ fo' two years in a row at de Acolyte base." He said proudly.  
  
"Then Ah challenge yah ta a match. Yah can't be as good as yah say. Besides. The Acolytes? Yah played against a certifiably insane Aussi, a giant tin can that talks if yah lucky, An over-grown an' probably rabid cat monster thing, an' Ol' Bucket head? There ain't no way yah any good."  
  
"Y' fo'got 'bout Quickie, Chére." Remy smirked. "He stopped by sometimes."  
  
"Oh, like playing Pietro is such a skill" Rogue rolled her eyes.  
  
"Don' knock de boy till y' gone against him. His ego be too big. Remy convinced dat it squished his brain. Pokémon be all 'bout strategy. If y' make a deck wit' little weakness and a lot of strengt' an trainer cards an' energies an' y' play wit' a good strategy, den y' almost invincible. De on'y problem be dat y' strategy better be better deny' 'ponent's." The Cajun smirked and turned the page. Wanda glared back at him.  
  
"Wanda has been mah savin' grace. She is the only other Goth in Bayville. Ah swear this town is full of preps and hoods like Lance. Ah just wish her brotheh (brother) and Fatheh (Father) had been more honest with her. Its hard to pretend everything is ok while we hate Magneto. Nobody deserves ta be lahed (lied) ta lahke (like) that. An' Ah am speakin' from first hand experience." They got through the pictures of Pyro and Colossus with no comments and then Gambit found a familiar pair of red-on-black eyes looking up at him.   
  
"Dis homme be devilishly handsome, non?" He smirked as he gestured to the portrait of himself.  
  
"No is rahght (right) Cajun." She said coyly and grinned at his crestfallen expression. "Don't flatter yahself, Sugah. Yah ain't the best lookin' guy out there." Remy childishly pouted and stuck out his tongue at her. "One of 'em, yeah, but definitely not number one."  
  
Remy continued flipping pages. The other pictures after the portraits were various scenes etched out. Some were real and others to Remy's knowledge had never actually happened, such Jean hanging off a cliff above a burning bonfire, or Rogue and Scott getting married.  
  
He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Chere, y' an' Cyke make a lousy couple."   
  
"Aw, shut yah mouth Cajun!" Rogue growled. "If yah don't like it so much, tell meh a better couple."   
  
"Remy t'inks y' an' Remy be a real cute couple, Petite."  
  
Rogue groaned. "Ah should have seen that comin' shouldn't Ah have? Ah walked right inta that one with both eyes wahde (wide) open. Didn't Ah?"  
  
"Yep, Chere. Remy always knew dat y'd walk right into his arms. But, don' worry. Remy will hold y' tight so y' ain' walkin' 'round blindly no mo'." He smirked as she grimaced. Knowing she was uncomfortable, he kept flipping through the pages of her sketch book.   
  
He finally came to a page where a half burnt King of Hearts card was taped to a page. Under that, in fancy script, it read, "Guys Ah have liked: Cody, Scott, Warren, Remy"  
  
Curiously, he turned the page. There were about twelve pictures of a jock with a Caldecott High School letterman jacket. Remy had no idea who he was, as he had never seen the kid before, but guessed that this was Cody.  
  
"Who is dis?" Remy asked the girl who was still fuming.   
  
"Oh, that's Cody. He was mah...fihst (first) boyfriend."  
  
"Oh, Remy knows who dat is! Ain' he de garcon who y' powers activated o- Oh." Remy saw the instant change. She didn't succeed in hiding her miserable sniffling. Tears did flow down her cheeks.  
  
"Oh, Remy so sorry, Chere! He fo'got dat was a sore spot fo' y'!" He hugged her close and she trembled and shook.   
  
Remy turned the page and his lip curled in disgust. About fifty different pictures of Scott smiled back at him in a sickening way.   
  
"Chere, Remy don't wanna know when y' saw Cyke wit' no shirt, but why did y' like him? Dat homme (guy) has a six foot pole up his backside that prevents him from havin' fun ou act like de nineteen year old dat he is."  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Don't Ah know that is true." She said wistfully. "But hey, a gal kin dream right?"  
  
"Remy'd prefer it if y' dreamed 'bout Remy, Chere." He said suavely.  
  
He ducked as a pillow from her bed flew at him.   
  
"Yah jerk" Rogue smirked as she hit him with the second pillow from her bed. He merely smiled and turned the page of the sketch book. He blinked in shock as his own image appeared. There were so many pictures of him that he was amazed.  
  
"Chére! Dese are magnifique (magnificent)! Who knew dat Remy's Chére was such une bonne artiste (good artist)? So kin Remy take dis as a sign dat y' do have feelin's ot'er den hatred towards him?"  
  
"NO!" Rogue grumbled. "The onleh (only) thing Ah feel fo' yah is detest and spite. Yah such an arrogant jerk! Yah think yah God's gift ta women, an' Sugah? Yah fah (far) from it. Yah ego's so big Ah am amazed yah neck kin s'port yah big fat head. Oh and yah always trahin' (trying) ta botheh (bother) meh. And one otheh (other) thing...AH AIN'T YAH 'CHERE'! Mah name is Rogue. Say it with meh now. ROGUE. Row-guh. Not Chére. Got it?"  
  
"Yep, Remy got it, Chére." He teased. "Y' want Remy t' call y' ROW-GUH."  
  
"Ack! Men!" Rogue exclaimed. "Look Sugah, don't call meh yah Chére. Ah ain't nobodeh's (nobody's) anehthing (anything). I don't belong ta anehone. (anyone.) Especially not ta yah."  
  
"Whatever, petite. Jus' remember dat Denial ain't jus' a river in Egypt." He smirked at her furious facial expression. He then looked back down at a gorgeously detailed picture of himself standing in a doorway with his trademark cocky grin. "Sure. Remy believes dat y' REALLY hate him. Uh-huh." He kept flipping through the drawings and eventually he across a few of things he KNEW he had never done, such as standing at an alter while a two-toned haired girl walked down the aisle, or sitting on his motorcycle while a girl whose hair was long and two-toned and trailing behind them buried her face into his trench-coat clad back.. And then, he found a page that was a duplicate drawing of Scott without a shirt, only with the head substituted for a Cajun one with demonic eyes.   
  
"Chére, y' got Remy all wrong!. But if y' need him t' model so y' kin do de drawin' right sometime..."  
  
"Huh?" Rogue glanced at the older mutant curiously.. Then she realized how far he had gotten through her sketch book and realized the pages he was currently studying. Everything seemed to blur as she shook her head to clear her thoughts. How could she have been so careless as to let him see this? This book was almost a diary to her. Only she drew her thought s instead of writing them. This was the journal where she stored her most emotional thoughts. The pictures of her friends and teammates and crushes! She dove over him and snatched at the book.  
  
"Gimme that! Ah think yah've seen enough!" She was more than slightly panicking.  
  
"But, Chére," Remy whined. "Remy wants t' see y' work!"  
  
"No, Cajun. Yah tahme (time) is up. Ah don't need yah seein' these."  
  
"If Remy had known he had a time limit, he'd have spent less time on de ot'ers and mo' on de pictures o' Remy!" The Cajun sulked.  
  
"Well too bad, huh Sugah?" She smirked.  
  
Remy recovered quickly. "So were dose pictures y' own personal fantasies?" He teased her. "Did dey get mo' interestin'? Dat why y' didn' want Remy t' see any o' de rest?" Her face instantly matched his eyes (well the red parts anyway).  
  
"N-No!" She spluttered unconvincingly. " It was just...just....when Ah absorbed yah, yah psyche kept part o' yah ego an' when the psyches act up, yahs is dominant so yah make meh draw yah." She tried to sound confident. Really she did try.  
  
"Chére, Remy can't draw a straight line wit' a ruler. Remy's psyche would not tell y' draw Remy. Maybe go on a date wit' Remy ou kiss him but not draw him." The older teen seemed to enjoy making Rogue squirm in discomfort. "Don't worry, Petite. Remy not gonna tell nobody dat Remy de homme (man) o' y' dreams. We kin jus' keep dat as our secret, non?" He winked cheerily at her.  
  
Rogue smiled and nodded. She definitely did not want her crush spread to gossip hounds like Kitty, Tabitha, Jubilee or even a bunch of the guys. It could do some major damage to her distant reputation.   
  
"Kin Remy tell y' a secret?" He asked suavely as she rolled her eyes. "Y' de first fille, dat give Remy a fight 'bout de flirtin'. Usually de filles an' femmes t'row demselves at Remy. Y' special, Chére. Diff'ren'. Dat be what intrigues Remy 'bout y'. Ot'er den y' beauty an' charm o' course."  
  
"Go wressle with a gator, Swamp Rat." She said with a scowl on her face and twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Weh both know yah lahin' (lying) through yah teeth."  
  
"Y' wound Remy, Chére. Real deep." He gave her a look of mock hurt. Then he slid closer to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. "Trut' ou Dare, Roguey."  
  
"Yah ever call meh Roguey again an' yah gonna hafta have Beast feedin' yah through a tube in the med-lab." She warned him. "An' AH know what yah dares are lahke (like) so I guess truth."  
  
"Is Remy a good kisser Chére?"  
  
"Ah honestly don't know, since Ah've neveh (never) had anehone (anyone) else ta compare yah ta. Fo' all Ah know, yah could be the lousiest kisseh (kisser) this sahde (side) o' heck." She said all this in a level voice, but with a smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.  
  
"Fair 'nuff Remy guesses. But Remy gets t' ask his jolie amie (pretty girlfriend) anot'er question den." He smiled and moved in, closing the already small distance between them. "Did y' like it when Remy kissed y', Petite?" He smirked broadly. Unbeknownst to the two of them, they both started leaning towards each other. Rogue's eyes closed unconsciously and she smiled, completely unaware of what she was doing. Remy on the other hand also shut his eyes and smiled. One would think that he would know when he was about to kiss a girl, but this one seemed to have him entranced and under a spell.  
  
A second before their lips met, the door opened. The couple looked up and saw Kitty standing in the doorway wearing an expression that was some mix between shock, amusement, and triumph and maybe a few other stray emotions.  
  
(A/N: wouldn't I be just awful to leave it like this? Ok I have decided that this is the end of this chapter. Don't forget to Review! O_* (this is supposed to be a wink))  
  
(A/N: JUST KIDDING! Thought I had you there, didn't yah? §_§ I am not THAT cruel people. SHEESH!)  
  
"Oh, I am, like, so sorry if I am interrupting something. I just thought that...Oh who knows. I just was ,like, not really prepared for you two to be...I am, like, SOOOOOOO sorry!" Kitty babbled. She looked like she was desperately trying to hold back a smile or a giggle fit or possibly both.  
  
Remy looked at Rogue who had just realized how close they were, and what had almost happened and backed away from him VERY quickly. I mean, we're talkin' Quicksilver like speed here. "Cela était des moyens d'elle, n'est-ce pas? Chére, votre camarade de chambre doit apprende a congner sur la porte si elle ne fait pas interupt de magie, non? (That was mean of her, wasn't it? Chére, your roommate should learn to knock on the door so she does not interrupt the magic, no?)" Rogue rolled her eyes a little and then nodded slightly. Remy then continued. "Pour quoi Remy? L'univers rit a Remy maintenant, n'est-ce pas? ( Why Remy? The universe is laughing at Remy now isn't it?)"   
  
Kitty blinked and tried to comprehend what he had just said. She caught the word Chére a few times and could guess by inference of how Rogue responded to it that it meant 'dear' or something like that. But everything else flew over her head. " Uh, care to, like, let me in on whatever you just said?" She timidly mumbled.  
  
"Kitty, vous avez le moment miteux." Remy pouted.  
  
"Huh?" Kitty asked intelligently.  
  
"He says yah have lousy tahmin' (timing), Kit." Rogue explained.  
  
"Oh, like, I guess. " Kitty grinned sheepishly. "But maybe if he didn't talk like Pietro, and spoke in English, I, like, would have totally understood him."  
  
"Yah babblin' Kit." Rogue pointed out.  
  
"I'll stop. But, like, why didn't you just tell me how much you like, liked him?! I'm, like, your best friend! Isn't that what roommates are for? To discuss crushes and, like, boyfriends with?" The younger girl gestured to the two of them who were still a little too close for comfort, and the fact that they were still almost kissing, as Remy had backed her into a corner and had again subconsciously moved in.  
  
Rogue just frowned. "Kitty, Ah don't lahke (like) him. Ah lahke (like) him about as much as Wanda lahkes (likes) Toad."  
  
"Oh so very much then," Kitty giggled highly amused. "Wanda's head over heels for him. Even though he is, like, totally icksome." Kitty shuddered. "But she still totally likes him. And I, like, totally think you're playing the same "hard-to-get" game with Remy just like Wanda is with Toad. Like, duh."  
  
Rogue growled. "Ah. DO. NOT. LAHKE (LIKE). HIM!" She snarled. "Oh look a flahin' (flying) pig! Oh mah mistake, no such thing. Cuz that is when Gambit will be mah boyfriend. No scratch dat. Jean will be blond before Ah date Remy. And he is the most stupid, egotistical, sarcastic, annoyin' son of a Swamp Rat on this planet!"  
  
"Y' fo'got t' mention dat Remy de hottest an' most charmin' son of a Swamp Rat on dis planet, Chére." He smirked and winked.  
  
Rogue pushed him away from her and he landed with a thump, in an undignified position, on his backside, on the floor. "Perverti stupide! Je vous déteste! (Stupid Swamp Rat! I hate you!)"  
  
Kitty had no clue what her friend had said. But she giggled at the expression of rage on Rogue's face and the look of surprise on Remy's.  
  
To both Kitty and Rogue's surprise he stood up and winced as he rubbed his lower back and then walked towards the door. He turned around with a smile on his face. "Je vous aime aussi, mon Chérie. Reves doux, Roguey." With that he gave a hearty wink and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.  
  
"Le vieux rat de marais meut. (dumb old swamp rat)" Rogue half muttered and half whispered after he left.  
  
"Ohhhh, like, what did he say?!" Kitty bounced up and down in excitement. "And what did you say to him?!"  
  
Rogue merely smiled and shrugged.  
  
"You, are, like, infuriating, Rogue!" Kitty stomped her foot childishly. Then she paused. "Like, oh my gosh! Rogue, the only word I caught in that was "Roguey". He deliberately drew that out! He called you "Roguey" and , like, you didn't dismember him! I knew it...You, like, totally like him!" Kitty squealed in delight.  
  
"Je ne vais pas dire un mot, Kit. Pas un mot seul. (I am not going to say a word, Kit. Not one single word.)" Rogue said, shaking her head in amusement. Then she took her pajamas and went to the bathroom to change.  
  
"ARGH!" Kitty huffed. "I, like, totally swear that on the first day of school (A/N: Its summer vacation right now cuz otherwise my whole story makes as much sense as Pietro walking. I, mean how does he do that at school. I get fidgety after the first five minutes of being restricted to a desk, I imagine he would not be able to stand it. And, I don't even know how to stay still so long and I do not possess the super-speed X-gene...) , I am so going to go to the guidance councilors and take French instead of Study Hall!" Kitty called after her best friend. "Between, like, you and Remy and occasionally Sam, I totally have to learn what you guys are saying!" She changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed.   
  
Rogue reentered the room in her orange and green pajamas, yawning. "Whateveh (whatever) Kit. Just don't hurt yourself, okay?" Rogue then climbed into her own bed and rolled over to turn out the lamp. "Night, Kit."   
  
Kitty rolled over fuming about she was always left in the dark-proverbially and literally.  
  
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So there is the real end. What did you guys think? Like it? Hate it? Think trained assassin penguins should peck me to death? Let me know. I mean it! I haven't really gotten any bad reviews, and I am worried that my ego is gonna pop soon. Hey this is my first try. It can't really be that perfect can it? I swear, constructive criticism is welcomed as long as its accompanied by a reason. Don't get me wrong, I am not encouraging any negative comments but I am beginning to wonder...  
  
Ok, so I have an idea. After every chapter, I am going to ask a thought provoking question. Answer if you think you know the answer. Remember there are no wrong answers.  
  
Here goes: Who would win in a race between Pietro (Quicksilver) and Wally West (the Flash [I think that is his the Flash's name. Any DC fans want to help me out?])?????????????????  
  
Love and Peace  
  
-Heartsyhawk-  
  
chapter 6 completed Sunday, February 22, 2004 


	6. BACK IN DIAPERS

Welcome back my friends! I am pleased to present the one you have all been waiting for! *drum roll* This it. They go back! I know a bunch of you have been waiting for this. I love this chapter! It is so awesome. So read on for your weekly recommended dose of Back in Diapers.

Oh by the way, I know I made a few comments about February Vacation but my weasel of a computer decided that it HAD to die on this particular week. Then my mouse died too, and I had to try to do this with out the mouse. I never really knew how much I relied on the little bugger....I was seriously in tears when my dad brought home a new mouse which I have affectionately named "Trouble". *shakes head in defeat* Technology. Can't live with it, I die with out it. Oh well, so last chapter took forever because I was pitifully trying to work without my old mouse. The little bugger was possessed, I swear it! I could make the pointer go left and right, But, to make it go up, I had to shake it really hard. And to make it go down, *pathetically sobs* I had to slam it against my hand repeatedly. I still have the stupid bruises. So, anywhoozles, this chapter is dedicated to Dad and Trouble. Thank you both so much. You saved the last remaining scrap of sanity I have.

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Shout outs!

ishandahalf: Yes...cuteness is my specialty. Thanks a mega bunch for the gold stars. Trust me, your feelings for Jean are not unique to you. Jean's death would make the world a much better place :) 

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howlerdrode: Glad the chapter touched you. NOPE. Rogue can't help herself. But tell me honestly, do any Gambit-fan-girls out there blame her? I certainly don't. I'm sorry. I will try to cut out the snide comments. But sometimes it is so hard to keep them bottled up inside me. Ok, I try to translate most of my French. But I'll do more if you think I should. Ok, I am completely confused to what you said. Uhhhh...what reference to "sickeningly sweet" my memory is not cooperating...ok. LETS. GET. ONE. THING. STRAIGHT. RIGHT. NOW!!!!! I would NEVER insult Cassie! She may not be my favorite Animorph, but....us Anifans gotta stick together, right? By the way, thank you a plethora for the Flash/Quicksilver Issue. You were the only response to that so you get a "question champion trophy"!

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LoneWolf422: Glad you like it. Thanks oodles for the skateboarding term translation. I am kinda skateboard illiterate. So I give you an "author's helper" badge! Wear it with pride my friend!

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FortressofSolitude: Glad I got the Superman tidbit right. My whole family are Superman fans. My Dad and My Aunt Karen especially. I think you'd like her, she's a really cool lady :) Anywhoozles, in response to all you said, I think this chapter should rock your socks! Nope, its not saccharine. You see, I can't have the stuff. Might set off my seizures. I prefer to think of it as "unnaturally sweet"...I know that the tape and drawing may have been too much but the tape was the only way I could get the others to know what happened. The drawing was just kind of there to push the plot. And hey, I am still a newbie at this whole thing. You are 100% correct. Remy would 'tutoyer' Rogue. I know that, you know that, but I got lazy and apparently my online translator didn't know that Remy would familiarly address Rogue, and it was so late when I finished it, I was too tired to check. *grins sheepishly* So from now on, I am going to do what I can actually say in French and find a new translator for when I really need it.

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Officially*obsessed*with*Pyro: Hi! I must first tell you that I love your name! Enjoy this installment, okay?!

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Girl Number 1: O___________O Ok, first I will do all in power to keep them from being Mary Sues. In fact, I have realized that I am abolishing Steffiny Stacy all together cuz she has no point or purpose and I really don't want to chance her becoming one of the beasts because in the Mary-Sue litmus test for X-Men Evolution, she was too close for comfort. And I may change Carmen's past so I can pull her as far away from that line as I can. I'm glad you enjoy this story so much. I would never ever do a story where Rogue goes psycho and kills everybody especially Jean and Scott. After long consideration, I realize that I do not think I want those two dead. They aren't so bad...Besides, they are WAY too much fun to torture for me to kill off! ;) It is always about Rogue. Jean is about as awesome as a dead worm. Rogue would be more of a threat, but she isn't evil...:) If it makes you feel any better, that is the longest review I have ever gotten! Thanks a super lot! Oh and as to your comment about Gambit being a...you know what...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I mean, logically, it makes sense but still... AhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHh!

Where do you get this stuff? Tell me you are pulling my leg! Please?!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!? Send me the url in your review PLEEZ?!

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Hah! Y'all thought I forgot a disclaimer didn't you? Well I didn't so there! But, I no longer need it since I own it all! I own, X-men, and Microsoft, The Sims, Harry Potter, Animorphs, Disney, Build-a-Bear, AND the Coca-Cola Corporation! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA! *laughs hysterically* And if y'all believe that, I got a beautiful tourist resort in Blood Moon Bayou that y'all really need to check out. Look, I don't own any of the above things. They belong to Marvel/ Stan Lee, Bill Gates, Maxis, J. K. Rowling/ Warner Bros., K. A. Applegate/ Scholastic, The Disney Corporation, Build-A-Bear, and The Coca-Cola Corporation respectively. I merely own products from all of them. And most of them aren't fully mine. So there. 

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In the morning, a bunch of the New Recruits came down to breakfast half expecting Ororo to be cooking breakfast, and Logan glaring daggers at them for missing a danger room session. Then they remembered that the adults were no longer there to do their morning rituals. But the students were confused. Yeah, Storm was gone, off to a luxurious European vacation. But they knew they were smelling breakfast being cooked. 

Cautiously they entered the kitchen. The several kids who were now in the kitchen scoped out the scene in front of them. Remy and Freddy (That sounds wrong so I am going to affectionately refer to Fred as Blob) were collaborating and cooking breakfast. They gestured to the kids to come and sit at the already set table. The teens did so, very nervously. Amanda came in and joined the group sitting next to Kurt.

"Good Morning everybody." She greeted.

A few minutes later, Rogue trudged into the room. She grumbled a quick "mornin'" and made her way to the coffee machine, still clearly half asleep. Bobby and the rest of the New Recruits turned to watch what promised to be an extremely entertaining scene. Usually, Rogue got herself a cup of coffee which Logan usually made. But there was no Logan. And nobody else had bothered as it was usually only the two anti-social x-men who drank the stuff anyway.

The sleepy girl absently poured the pot of non-existent coffee in her mug. She leaned against the counter and brought the cup to her lips to drink. Suddenly she blinked in surprise. Her mouthed formed an "o" of surprise and she looked into her empty cup.

"C'mon. Y'all know Ah'm dangerous befo' mah coffee." She pleaded. "Whose ahdea (idea) of a sick joke is this? C'mon, Ah really want it." She whined. 

Remy smiled gently. "Sit down Chére. Don' git too worked up. Logan ain't here t' make de coffee in de mornin' fo' y'."

Rogue scowled menacingly at him. She took her usual seat at the end of the table. Remy smirked and set a plate of food in front of her. He and Blob had honestly worked together. Both were master chefs, and apparently they had combined their knowledge of cooking and had come up with something everyone would eat. It smelled tantalizing. Yet the plate in front of Rogue did not contain omelets with bacon, ham, cheese, and veggies. It looked as if a special meal had been prepared for her.

Rogue scowled at the plate. It had two biscuits with gravy, two strips of bacon, a small portion of grits and half an orange on it. She glared at Remy and then the food. Then she smiled a saccharine-ishly sweet smile at Blob.

"Sugah, would yah be a dahlin' (darling) and hand meh that box o' Lucky Charms?" 

Blob shook his head and grinned. Rogue would never change. She was dead stubborn, that's for sure. Blob had discovered that the meal in front of her was her favorite back in the boarding house when he had taken the chore of cooking breakfast from her after hearing the other boys whine about no variety. Rogue was a decent cook herself but she hated doing it for the picky northern boys so she gladly abdicated kitchen duty to the Texan. He knew it had to be killing her to not eat her favorite breakfast, but he also knew she'd kiss toad before she would accept the favor from Gambit.

Remy's face fell. "Chére," he whined pathetically. "Remy cooked y' breakfast special. Y' jus' gonna let it go t' waste?"

"Of course not," she drawled. Remy smiled. "Kurt, Freddeh (Freddy), o' Pietro kin eat it. They'd eat anehthin (anything)."

She smirked in triumph as she poured milk over her cereal. Remy pouted. His plan to rack up brownie-points with her had failed miserably. "Y' wound Remy, Rogue." He said in a whiney voice. Then he shrugged and sat down next to her. He grabbed the Lucky Charms box and poured himself a bowl. "Why don't y' want t' eat de food Remy cooked y'?" He asked sweetly.

Rogue looked coyly at him. "Let meh see..." She pretended to think very hard. "Oh yeah. Maybe its cuz Ah don' wanna dah (die) o' food poisonin' (poisoning)? O' maybe its cuz Ah'm worried that yah laced it with carcinogens o' anesthetics o' somethin'?" She smiled innocently.

"Chére, what makes y' t'ink dat Remy wants y' dead?" He asked flabbergasted. 

"Maybe Ah just don't trust yah?" Rogue sneered. "Or did yah eveh (ever) think that Ah just don't like yah?"

Remy pouted again and everybody who was eating stayed silent. The strange, awkward silence ended abruptly however.

"Robert Drake!!!!" Jean shrieked from her upstairs bathroom. A few moments later she stormed into the kitchen with dripping wet *double take* BLONDE hair?!?!?!

She looked livid.

"Why does everyone always assume I did it?" Bobby whined as he backed away from the angry now-blonde Jean Grey. 

"Because, you always do it!" Scott snarled at Bobby. He noticed Kurt, Jamie, Tabitha and Pyro slinking away almost unnoticed. "Kurt! Jamie! Tabitha! Allerdyce! Where do you think you're going?!" He roared at them. "Apologize to Jean! Right now!"

The quintet (is that the word for a group of five?) of troublemakers looked at Jean who was now weeping about her perfect hair being ruined. 

"They all smirked. Then they cast their heads down as if ashamed and mumbled "sorry Jean" ("sorry Sheila " in Pyro's case). Scott smiled in triumph however he and Jean were the only ones who didn't notice that the kids had their fingers crossed behind their backs.

Jean continued weeping as she sat down to breakfast. "Oh-come-off-it-Grey!" Pietro rolled his eyes. "It-will-come-out-in-one-wash! Its-only-the-temporary-stuff-you-idiot!"

"Really?" Jean choked. "Oh thanks Pietro" With that she ran upstairs to take a shower to remove the color form her hair.

Remy turned to Rogue smirking. "Chére, Remy does believe dat y' owe him a date."

"WHAT?" She shrieked.

"Well y' said dat y'd date Remy when Jeannie was blonde. An' Remy believes dat wit' t'anks t' de Iceboy, y' frére (brother), de squirt, Tabby, et mon meileur ami (my best friend), she be blonde now." He smirked as she sputtered and choked in rage.

"Well, Ah still don' see no flahin' (flying) pigs. So no deal!"

"Dat wasn't de deal, Chére," He said gently.

"It sure as heck is now sugah!" Rogue growled indignantly.

"Fine". Remy stood up and loaded his bowl into the dish washer. Then he headed towards the door.

"Where the Sam Hill da yah think yah goin'?" Rogue cocked her head to the side. "It's early on a Saturday mornin' an' yah a mutant so yah gonna have one heck of a tahme trahin' (time trying) ta fahnd an open store ta buy yah stupid cigarettes without rahlin' (riling) up the mutant haters. (A/N: Bad Remy for smoking! But he did in the comics, so...I am going to have him quit but wait a little.)"

Remy chuckled. "Remy not goin' out fo' cigarettes, Chére. Did dat Yeste'day. (yesterday)."

Rogue shook her head in aggravation. "Smokin's bad fo' yah anehway (anyway). Yah paintin' yah lungs black an' yah gonna dah (die) a painful death."

Remy smirked and his scarlet and ebony eyes twinkled in amusement. "Remy didn' know dat y' cared so much."

Rogue growled. "Believe meh Ah don't! When yah dahin' (dying) at an early age Ah'll be rahght (right) there with a bag o' popcorn waitin' fo' yah ta leave meh alone fo'eve' (forever)! An' Ah'll remahnd (remind) yah that its yah own fault."

Remy shook his head smiling. "Remy est content que tu soignes si beaucoup de lui. (Remy is glad you care so much about him.) Mais, Remy pas le projet sur mourir n'importe quand bientôt, donc tu es à rien se soucier de, Cherie. (But, Remy does not plan on dying any time soon, so you have nothing to worry about, darling.)"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Cela est exactement que je se suis soucié de. Savoir tu, tu resteries en vie à juste le sarcasm me. (That is exactly what I am worried about. Knowing you, you would stay alive to just taunt me.)"

"Tu saves que tu aimes Remy, chére. (You know you love Remy, dear.)" He winked at her and headed to the door again.

Rogue squeaked indignantly. Then she crossed her arms and affixed a death glare towards him. "La droite, je t'aime et les besoins de Logan pour être le tooth fairy. (Right, I love you and Logan wants to be the tooth fairy.)"

Remy chuckled. "Bien, cela est tout à fait une profession admirable, mais Remy ne pense pas que Wolverine paraîtrait trop bon dans un tutu et le diadème avec les petites ailes, n'est-ce pas? (Well, that is quite an admirable profession, but Remy does not think Wolverine would look too good in a tutu and tiara with little wings, do you?)"

Despite the fact that she was angry with him, she giggled! The entire room of teenagers felt their jaws drops. That was surely a sign of the Apocalypse! (hee hee ha ha get it?) None of them had ever heard Rogue giggle. It appeared that they were wrong, she did have some human qualities. (A/N: Just so you know, I think mutants are humans too so I won't refer to non-mutants as human. It just confuses me to no end. Sorry if you are confused.)

She quickly stopped and rolled her eyes at Remy, but she still was smiling. "Tu es impossible. Hilarant, pourtant impossible. Donc si tu ne sorties pas pour les cigarettes, où alles-tu (You are impossible. Hilarious, yet impossible. So if you were not going out for cigarettes, where are you going)?"

Remy smirked impishly. "Je vais aller la découverte qui Forge le gars et le discours à lui d'épisser génétique pour voir s'il peut faire une mouche de cochon. ( I am going to go find that Forge guy and talk to him about genetic splicing to see if he can make a pig fly.)"

Rogue rolled her eyes again. "Tu jamais cesses, Gambit? (Do you ever quit, Gambit?)"

"Non.(no)" he responded with a grin. "Tu ne saves pas que les vainqueurs ne cessent jamais et quitters ne gagne jamais, chére (Don't you know that winners never quit and quitters never win, dear)?"

Rogue groaned and shook her head. She went to go put her bowl in the dishwasher. 

"You know, I'm beginning to think that they do that deliberately so we don't know what the heck they are saying." Bobby pointed out. "Do either of you want to explain what you just argued about now?"

Wanda smirked. She had caught half of the conversation. Since Rogue was tired, her French was a little staggered and labored. So she knew part of what Rogue had said. What she was most curious about was when she heard the words "tooth fairy" and Wolverine in the same sentence. 

Jamie timidly raised his hand. "Um, do you guys come with subtitles?" Everyone chuckled at the innocent look on his face but they knew he was looking for clues to the romance between the two teammates.

Remy smiled and looked at the cute little thirteen year old. "Tell y' what, squirt. Remy'll tell y' what we said when y' older." He affectionately ruffled Jamie's hair and shook his head.

Jamie looked flustered. "Why am I always too young for everything?" He pouted in a way that was oddly reminiscent of the way Remy had just done the same thing a few minutes ago.

"Dat just how t'ings are kiddo." Remy explained. He saw the saddened look on the kid's face. "Tell y' what. Remy'll teach y' French so y' kin decipher on y' own." Jamie's expression brightened.

"Really!?!" The kid asked excitedly. Remy nodded and Jamie grinned. For reasons unknown to the population at the institute, Jamie had taken to looking at Remy as a sort of hero. He looked up to the older boy. Maybe it was because Remy would always help him out in some way, or side with him in arguments. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was a thief-turned-good-guy, and maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was one of the two tallest members of the team. (A/N: In this, he and Scott are the same height 6'2"). Nobody knew the real reason, but many of them had the opinion that it was because Gambit did not strictly enforce the rules even though he was legally an adult. Therefore, Jamie did not get into much trouble with him about doing missions and training sessions that were not appropriate for his age and experience level. Also, maybe it was nice for the kid to have an older brother figure for a change, as he had grown up with five sisters, and the guys at the institute had always treated him like he was a fragile little baby.

Rogue moved over to the coffee machine and began to make herself some coffee.

"Is breakfast here always this fascinating?" Amanda giggled to Kurt.

"Nein (No {in German I think})." Kurt answered smiling. "Zis vas an unusually boring day. Zere vas no bloodshed and ze Cajun did not end up in tears, and mein seester did not threaten his life. At least I don't think she did. But, she usually does that in Eenglish (English) anyvay (anyway)."

"Why on Earth do they hate each other so much?" Amanda asked curiously. "They both seem so nice."

"As much as I vould love to give you a reason, I am not totally sure zat zey hate each other." Kurt sighed. "Rogue has never acted this vay before he got here. Now she ees vicious and snide and always backtracking to cover up what she says. And they are always bickering and fighting. I am pretty sure zat ze fights are what may be referred to as "lovers tiffs". I think zat zey are in love, but both of them are frightened of love so zey hide it. Or at least Gambit hides part, and Rogue buries her feelings in severely deep oceans of her mind. I do not even think she has admitted it to herself." Kurt looked miserably at his empty plate. 

On hearing this, Remy smirked and Rogue stuck out her tongue immaturely.

"Oh, so you aren't too happy with this arrangement?" Amanda asked as she put an arm around his shoulder.

"No. I am very vorried about her. I don't vant him to hurt her. And I don't vant him to take her away from me either." Now it was Remy's turn to stick out his tongue as Rogue sighed and shook her head.

"You can't prevent your sister from falling in love Kurt." Amanda reasoned. "And even if she and Gambit run off and elope or something crazy like that, you'll always be her brother. Nobody will take your place in her heart." At Amanda's words, Rogue choked into her now fresh coffee. She spluttered and gasped repeatedly.

Remy saw an opportunity to mess with everybody's heads. "Aw, 'Manda! Now look what y' did!" He went over to Rogue and patted her back. This helped the choking slightly. 

"Thanks, Swamp Rat" Rogue gasped. She looked ready to kill Amanda.

"Remy be tres (very) sorry, Chére." Rogue smiled curiously. "Now dat y' frére's copine (girlfriend) went and said dat, it ain't gonna be a surprise when we do elope." Rogue looked shocked for a moment. But of course a dead hush fell over the room. All of the teens had faces like this OoO!!! Quite a few looked incredulously at Remy. His announcement had taken about fifty years off the life span of the kids in the room. Kurt was snarling and growling and muttering curses in German. Amanda was restraining him much to his dismay.

Remy smirked in satisfaction. He never saw the right hook Rogue threw at him until it was too late. Moments later he woke up from an unconscious state and groaned as he pulled himself off the kitchen floor.

"Ouch, dat hurt Chére." He whined and held a hand to his eye. When he removed it, Bobby whistled.

"Whew! you are definitely gonna feel that tomorrow, dude."

"Remy feelin' it right now." The Cajun grimaced as he tenderly touched the eye. 

"Wow. Interesting shade of black and blue..." Amara commented.

"Go, Rogue! Show him that girls rule! Yeah!" Tabby cheered.

"A black eye, that is nothing to what I'll do to him when Amanda lets me go!" Kurt snarled.

"Here's a free lesson, LeBeau." Rogue snarled at Remy as she stood over him. "Don't mess with the Rogue!"

"Rogue!" Jean said aghast as she came into the room. Her hair still had a slight blonde tint to it but it was about 90% red again. "You know you are not allowed to fight with teammates!"

"But, you don't know what he-" Rogue started but Jean cut her off.

"Rogue, you have been nothing but trouble since the day we rescued your sorry tail from the mountains!" Jean snapped. "l don't care what he did or said! You have no right to hurt him!"

"Non, it be okay Jeannie." Remy groaned as he rubbed his eye. "Remy said somet'in' he shouldn't have. Remy deserves de black eye. Don't punish her none." He said this in a low flirtatious tone. Jean giggled a little as she looked into his eyes.

"Okay then..." She trailed off. Scott looked furious. 

"Gambit! The professor said you were not allowed to use your empathic charming power on any of the girls!"

"Remy don' see de prof roun' here. D' y'?" Remy shot back. "An Remy be de oldest here. So y' can't act like y' de boss o' Remy, Shades. Cuz y' not."

Scott huffed. "For the oldest, you sure do an excellent impression of a four year old."

"An fo' nahneteen (nineteen) yah do an amazin' impression of an old geezeh (geezer) Scott!" Rogue shot at him. Remy smirked a little. It was a rare occurrence that they were on the same side of an argument. But then again, Rogue hated Scott with almost as much passion as she appeared to hate Remy so it was not too surprising.

Remy shook his head. His empathy was overwhelming him with Rogue's emotions. Hatred for Scott, and a whole mega ton of mixed emotions about himself.

Scott ignored her comment. "Look here LeBeau. Nothing will ever give you the right to make off-color comments about or to Rogue." He said angrily as he snapped into his "protect the teammates" mode. "Rogue is like a little sister to me and I do not want you saying things she doesn't like."

"Go stuff yourself, Summers." Lance growled protectively. He stepped between Scott and the two upset southerners. "You may like to think of her as a sister, but you don't treat her the way my parents taught me to treat girls. Of course I don't really know how brother-sister relations work cuz mine died before my baby sister was born, but observing how Wanda and Pietro and even Kurt and Rogue interact, love for a sister is unconditional. In other words, you protect them all the time, not just when you have to."

Scott gaped at Lance. They were mortal enemies. Lance was supposed to be evil and not make sense. But Scott realized that he was right. So he stayed silent.

"What's the matter Summers?" Lance asked. "You afraid of me? Or is it the fact that you know I am right?"

Scott didn't answer. "Well, maybe you ought to think for a moment then. Rogue was one of the brotherhood once. She is kinda like our sister. And the blue boy really is her brother through Mystique. Do we treat her like you do?"

Lance smirked. he knew he had struck a nerve the way that Scott scowled and clenched his fingers into fists. 

A tense silence fell over the room. At that moment, the door sprung open and a guy who was age-suspended in the seventies strolled in.

"Guess what?! I have done it! This may be my best invention yet guys!" He grinned.

"Hey Forge." Kurt greeted through his snarl.

"Why the long face Kurt?" Forge asked his buddy.

"You might say zat ve are about to kill Gambit." Kurt muttered.

"Oh really why?" Forge asked. "Did I miss another episode of "Git away from meh yah dumb swamp rat"?"

"Yes. He made an off color comment to Rogue." Bobby informed the other mutant. 

Kurt huffed. "Zat vas more zen off color Bobby."

Rogue agreed with her brother. "Yeah Forge, it was...the rudest thing he's ever said ta meh."

Forge whistled. "Well that explains the black eye then. Gambit, you really should learn to treat her like a lady. Rogue's special, treat her that way."

"Remy knows dat, homme!" Remy said exasperated. "Was on'y jokin' wit' her. Jeez y'd t'ink dat Remy wants t' hurt de fille (the girl) de way all o' y' are actin'!"

Several people laughed at the sour look on his face. And some people just glared.

"Well, anyway, I am here to see the prof. Is he busy?" Forge asked Scott.

"You could say that." Bobby grinned. "If you count busy as on vacation in Europe, probably having some serious fun, enjoying the beaches."

"Oh. When'll he be back?" Forge asked. 

"Twenty nine days." Bobby grinned. "So we will have that much time to do whatever we want. Of course, we want to act like mature responsible angels." Bobby stammered quickly at the glare from Jean and Scott.

"Sounds great. But I need to show off my new creation. So how about it? Can I show you guys? I really can't wait a whole month!" The gleam in Forge's eyes was slightly manically. It kind of looked like the look Pyro got around fire, or the one Pietro got around girls.

"Hold up." Kurt said suspiciously. "Your last invention caused quite a problem. Zis von is not like that von is it?"

"Like, I remember that last one. Isn't that the one that sent those, like, icksome monster things into our dimension?" Kitty wrinkled up her nose at the memory of what had happened at the Sadie Hawkins dance. "They like, totally scared me and ruined the whole Sadie Hawkins dance!"

"Hold up!" Remy pouted comically. "Y' tellin' Remy dat dere was a fille's (girls) choice dance an' Remy di'n' git an invite? Chére, Remy be crushed! He's gonna die o' heartache now, petite."

"Ah wish." Rogue muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes.

Everybody ignored this little exchange. Forge laughed at Kurt.

"Dude. Don't worry Kurt. I totally checked it. I checked my calculations about sixty times. There's nothing to worry about."

"Oh. Alright zen. Show us." Kurt grinned. "What did you make now?"

"Well, I'll need some volunteers." Forge looked at the others. He looked like he was about to bust from excitement.

"Forge, Ah love yah as a friend, but Ah don't trust yah. No offense but are yah positive that this thing o' yahs is safe?" Rogue asked hesitantly.

"As far as I can tell, no undesired side effects. No rips in other dimensions." He responded cheerily.

"Oh. Alright then." twelve of the twenty-four mutant teens volunteered to let Forge demonstrate his new creation on them.

"You see guys, I have done something that was said to be theoretically impossible. I have created a time machine!"

Some of the volunteers began to look apprehensive again. "No, no, no! It isn't dangerous guys. I have tested it myself! I sent my self an hour back, a day back, and a week back. And I am still perfectly fine. Also, the guinea pigs and mice worked too."

Some of the kids relaxed. Just as long as they were not the first test subjects, they were fine with this. Forge was a great guy, and most of his inventions were intended to help. But more often than not, they tended to have dangerous side effects.

"Ok, does anybody have a problem with going back say fifteen years?" Forge asked like a child on Christmas, who was ready to open presents. Everyone shook their heads.

Forge fiddled with a few knobs and buttons and switches. At this point, the twelve who had decided to wait and see the side effects felt very safe indeed. The machine started making an odd humming noise. Forge assured them that it was perfectly normal for that to happen.

Forge pressed a red button labeled on. Suddenly the machine made a tremendous boom. A blinding flash of red light engulfed the room. When it cleared, everybody gasped.

"Uh, did we go back instead of them?" Jamie asked, trying to hide his confusion.

"Of course not silly! They were not all here 15 years ago!" Jubilee said incredulously. She had every right to be incredulous, and he had every right to be confused. 

For the teens who had stayed behind were now looking at the unconscious bodies of their teammates. Only they were tiny. Not as if they had been shrunk, but they were still very little. And they had childish features.

"Er, it appears that they did go back after all?" Forge timidly broke the heavy silence. "But...how? What went wrong? I checked my calculations...this worked with me!"

"Ok, so you made a mistake. No big deal. Just un-make it fast please." Lance said in forced calm.

"Sure." Forge twiddled the buttons once again. He clicked a button labeled "Reverse". The device whirred to life. But then it spluttered and died. With a pale face, Forge tried again. And again. And again. He kept failing.

"Forge, please explain..." Lance muttered. He was trying really hard to keep his temper. A leader is supposed to be a good example for those younger than themselves.

"It appears that the power source is limited in its supply of energy. The machine requires a high level of input from the source. I did not anticipate this malfunction. A calculation must have gone off..." Forge gulped. "In layman's terms, oops?"

The room began to tremble dangerously. "So, can you fix it?" Lance said in very dangerously low tones. Forge wisely took a step back.

"Whoa, chill out man." Forge said as he continued to step backwards. Lance was not one who would be winning any prizes for keeping his rather short temper in check. And what's more, everybody in Bayville knew it. "I can...I mean, not right now...but if I just go back to my lab and reconfigure my calculations..."

"WHAT?!?!?!?!" Lance blew up. "YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO YOUR LAB?! KITTY IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE YOU JUST MESSED UP AN EXPERIMENT ON BUDDY!!! AM I SUPPOSED TO CALMLY WAIT FOR YOU TO GO HOME AND TINKER WITH YOUR STUPID CALCULATIONS?!?!"

Forge mumbled something that sounded remotely like "mimble wimble" to Lance who was still on a rampage of rage.

"WELL YOU SURE AS HECK BETTER GET GOING! YOU...YOU...STUPID SCIENCE DORK!" Lance was apparently to angry to think of a fitting insult. Forge turned and ran straight out the door.

"Lance-calm-down!" Pietro said in a super-fast voice. This made Lance stop and translate it from Pietro-talk to human speech. The result was a calmed down Lance. "I-am-sure-your-precious-little-Kitty-cat-is-perfectly-fine. I-mean, Forge-may-be-a-touch-out-there,-but-I-don't-think-he'd-ever-hurt-anyone-especially-one-of-the-X-Gee-I-mean-X-Men."

While the others tried to translate, Lance had already fully recovered and nodded in agreement.

"Hey! You were going to call us the X-Geeks weren't you Maximoff?!" Evan glowered.

"Oooo, can't-get-anything-by-you-Daniels." The albino speedster rolled his eyes mockingly at his arch nemesis.

"Well, Maximoff, don't forget you live here at the institute too." Evan smirked. "So what does that make you? A saying comes to mind....what is it?...Oh yeah is it takes one to know one?"

"If-you-were-capable-of-noticing-Daniels, -I-stopped-myself.-You-think-I-would- insult-myself? Ha. Think-again." Pietro threw his rival one of his trademark smirks. "You should be thanking me Daniels. I allow you...commoners to revel in my glory." He smirked cockily and Evan threw his arms up in defeat. Right now there were bigger problems.

"Ok, both of you calm down." Lance stepped between the two of them. "Now lets not panic. When they wake up, we can calmly explain to them that there was a problem and their bodies are fifteen years younger. Yes. That's what we shall do."

"And wasn't he the one about two minutes ago, looking for Forge's blood?" Amanda mumbled in an undertone to Wanda who merely smirked in response. (A/N: Is it just me or do they do a ton of smirking in my story?)

At that moment one of the group's now tiny teammates stirred and sat up. The pint sized Remy opened up his red-on-black eyes, which were now bigger, wider, and held a ginormous quantity of childish innocence.

"Who are y'?" He asked sounding panicked. His voice was higher and slightly strained as if talking was still a new experience. His accent however, was as thick as the stunned teens had ever heard it. The miniature version of everybody's favorite Cajun cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Y' not m' pére. An Remy don' t'ink y' any o' de ot'er t'iefs. Where be m' famille (family)? Where is Remy? Are y' guys 'ssassins? (assassins)" He looked positively terrified at the thought.

The group was too stunned to respond. After a few moments Lance began almost weeping. "Remy...buddy, you have to know who I am. I'm Lance. You remember me? Please?"

"Is Remy 'upposta (supposed to) know y'?" The Cajun blinked adorably. "Cuz Remy don't 'member (remember) y'."

Lance's face fell. "Ok, Cajun. You scared me there. But the jokes over now okay?"

"Joke? Remy di'n' say a joke. But, Remy knows a awesome joke. It goes, what aminal (animal) shouldn' y' play cards wit'? Give up? A cheetah. Get it?" The toddler sized Remy smiled one of those 100 million watt smiles that only a little kid can have in a situation that is so weird. 

"But where is Remy?" he asked pouting. His pout was so much more irresistible as a tiny little kid than it was when he used it as a flirtatious teen.

"You have got to be joking me." Lance's jaw dropped. He turned to the other twelve who were just as surprised. "Do you think that its just this one?" He asked hopefully. 

His answer came in the form of a very petite little girl with auburn hair and the infamous white stripes waking up and looking around, almost in tears. "Mama? Where am Ah? Ah want mah Mama! Ah'm scared!" The small girl nervously clutched the hem of what was at one point her over shirt, but now could almost pass as a dress. Apparently the kids had de-aged completely but their clothes had not shrunk with them. On closer inspection, Remy's shirt was way too big as well and he was just kind of drowning in what were once semi tight pants.

Lance groaned. Jamie's eye's widened. "You...You're Rogue. Don't you remember?"

Rogue wrinkled up her nose. "Mah name ain't Rogue, silly." The little girl shook her head.

"Then what is your name?" Jamie asked sweetly. 

Rogue giggled. This was quite disturbing, as Rogue seldom laughed and giggling was about as common as Jean cursing. "Mah name is Marie Anna Darkholme. An' Ah'm free. (three)." She smiled, revealing a full mouth of baby teeth and holding up three fingers.

"So-that's-what-her-real-name-is!" Pietro smiled in amusement. "That's-kind-of-cute.-Why-do-you-think-she-always-refused-to-tell-us-that? I-mean-the-way-she-acted-you-would-have-thought-it-was-something-dreadful-like-Mildred-or-Penelope-or-something. (A/N: I have nothing against these names. Consider the person saying it...)

"Mah name is Marie." She repeated. "Y'all wanna make somethin of it?" She glared threateningly. But unfortunately for her, in the same way that Remy's pout became cuter, her scowl did too. So it did not have the effect she would have wished.

Remy walked over to her and tilted his head to the side. "Remy thinks y' look mo' like a 'Rogue' den y' look like a Marie, Chérie." In a split second she had slammed him to the floor and pinned him down.

"Ah said mah name is MARIE!" She growled.

"Remy heard y'." He shot back and stuck his tongue out at her. Her big emerald eyes widened. In an instant she had slammed a tiny fist into his face. He whimpered and wrestled his arm free and he cupped his nose in his hand. The instant the blood trickled through his fingers his eyes filled with unshed tears.

Immediately, Piotr bounded forward and lifted his friend up. Wanda was right behind him. She detained Rogue.

"Ok. This is obviously not going to work." Lance shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea how long Forge is going to need."

The other mini-mutants were gradually reentering the conscious realm. Most of them were whining and asking where their parents were.

"Ok. Um. Maybe we should take care of them. After all, they are just babies. Its bad to neglect babies, right?" Lance babbled.

"Perhaps we should call Xavier." Colossus suggested mildly. "He may know what to do..."

"Are you crazy?!" Lance bellowed. "We'll get in so much trouble. Besides, he'll think we can't handle responsibility. They're only little kids. How hard can it be?"

"It was only a suggestion." The tall Russian shrugged. "But do you not think that Xavier deserves to know?"

"Look tin-man. I am the oldest here. I don't want to look like an idiot. Please lets just give Forge his time to work out the kinks."

"Fair enough I suppose."

"Right. So to take care of them first we have to know their ages." Lance smiled. "Summers and Gambit started at nineteen, and Forge de-aged them 15 years. So they should be about four."

"Jean and Rogue were eighteen at the beginning." Jubilee piped up. "So they're three now, I guess."

"Ah already said that!" Rogue huffed.

"St. John was seventeen. So he should now be two years of age." Piotr shrugged. "Of course, my math may be off as I am still not the best at American words."

"Bobby and Kitty were 17 too." Evan groaned. He knew that if they were going to be babysitting, he could not skateboard. Watching a whole flock of toddlers would not be his idea of fun.

"Ditto-for-Blob." Pietro grimaced. "And-Tabitha-prided-herself-on-being- seventeen-and-a-half. So-that-would-bring-her-age-down-to-two-and-a-half."

"Same goes for Kurt." Amanda mumbled as she watched the small blue fuzzy elf boy trying to catch his own tail as it amused him greatly.

Wanda's face contorted in disgust. "Toad was 16. So guess what? He would be at the lovely age of one year old. Isn't that super?" She asked in a false cheery voice.

"I guess that would make Amara about one and a half, huh?" Rahne added. The young girl was still awestruck, as was everyone else.

"Right. This shouldn't be too bad." Lance gulped. "They are just little kids. Granted its going to be awkward. And they don't appear to remember anything beyond their "current" ages. But that's okay. How hard can looking after a few little kids be?" He smiled nervously. "After all, it'll only be for what? A few hours?" He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

The phone rang and Lance's smile brightened. "I'll bet that's Forge right now calling to say he's on his way with a solution." He cheerfully answered the phone. "Hello? Oh great its you." He smirked and mouthed " It's Forge. Told ya." Then his face fell. "Please don't tell me I heard what I think I just did...C'mon, tell me this is a bad connection." a slight pause. "Of course I know Xavier has the best phone service. But it can't be true." The boy was begging pathetically. The room began to quake as Lance's expression grew angrier. "HOW COULD YOUR DISK WITH THE CALCULATIONS GO MISSING?!?!" Lance screamed into the phone. "NO I WON'T CALM DOWN! NO THANKS TO YOU, MY GIRLFRIEND IS A FRIKKING TWO YEAR OLD! AND DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE IF YOUR EARS ARE HURTING?!" With that Lance slammed the phone down and swore violently with every curse he knew. And considering that he was Pietro's housemate for so long, that number was large and consisted of a few languages.

When he was done, everybody was looking at Lance in awe. They all knew he had a temper, but it still was always a shock to see it.

Among the little kids, Scott recovered from his shock first. "Ooooooooooooo. Oooooooooo!" This of course got all of the mini-mutants doing it. "Ooooooooooooo! I'm telling! You said a whole lotsa bad words!" Scott tutted in his usual bossy way. "Bad man. Bad!" He reprimanded.

"First of all, Summers, my name is Lance. Not "man" or "bad man". Second, nobody likes a tattle tale. And third,...WHY THE HECK AM I ARGUING WITH A FOUR YEAR OLD?!"

Scott stuck out his tongue. 

"Okay. I'm calm now. Uh, their clothes are a little too big. I think we kind of have to fix that. I can't believe they shrunk out of their clothes. Thank God the girls weren't wearing something skimpy like bikinis or something. That would be embarrassing. So. Uh anyone have any baby clothes lying around?" This was greeted with blank stares.

"I-can-adjust-the-clothes-on-some-of-them." Pietro admitted reluctantly. "Don't- give-me-that-look. When-you-are-taking-care-of-yourself-as-early-as-I-was-with-my- foster-family, you-have-to-learn-to-do-things-like-that. But,-anyway, the-two-little-ones-I- can't-do. Babies-and-I-don't-see-eye-to-eye. Its-been-that-way-since-my-foster-family." About three seconds later, the group of older kids was looking at ten toddlers in clothes that didn't quite look right on them, but none the less, clothes that fit well. 

"Ok. Now-that-we-have-that-crisis-solved-we-have-to-do-something-about-Toad-and-Magma." Pietro said importantly. "I-refuse-to-tailor-their-clothes. So, any-of-you-slow-pokes-have-any-baby-clothes-lying-around? You-know, just-in-case-there-is-a-new-addition-to-any-of-the-couples'-families?" He raised an eyebrow in Lance's direction, and also to Amanda. Lance rolled his eyes and Amanda blushed in humiliation.

"Grow up Pietro." Lance said in a tone that was clearly the only warning that would be issued before his temper blew again. "Kitty and I aren't ready for that kind of thing. And we won't be until marriage so get your mind out of the gutter. And on another note, even if Amanda here was ready, Kurt is a devout Catholic. There is no way he would cast aside his beliefs. On that, Kitty's the same way about being Jewish."

"Aye (I in a Scottish accent. But I won't do too much in this accent) migh' (might) be ible (able) te help ye. Aye have some doll clothes up in me room." The young Scottish girl smiled. "They migh' just be a bonnie (good?) fit fer (for) the li'l laddie (boy) an' me friend 'Mara." She tentatively picked her now-infant friend up and carried her up to her room.

A few moments later Rahne returned with Amara in a pink sleeper that came out of her doll cabinet. It was a little big but it was close enough to perfect. Rahne smiled and tossed a diaper and a similar sleeper to Lance. Only this one was slightly smaller and it was baby blue instead of powder pink.

Lance stared cluelessly at the thing. He looked from the sleeper to Rahne and then to the tiny infant who had rolled over onto his back and was busy playing with his toes, Lance was clearly baffled.

"Aye figure that ought te fit Toad. But Aye am nay (not) gunna put the lad inte it." Rahne clarified.

Lance blinked. He had a vacant expression on his face and he looked confused out of his skull.

"Oh-for-the-love-of-Pixie-Stix!" Pietro rolled his eyes. "You-people-are-so-hopeless-even-I-pity-you. This-is-not-even-funny. Wanda, give-Toad-and-the sleeper-to-me! At-my-stupid-foster-home-they-made-me-take-care-of-their-brats. At-least-I-know-how-to-diaper-and-clothe-an-infant."

Something in Wanda's brain clicked. "Hey. You never had a foster-family. I would have too. Its always been me you and father." Everyone in the room grew uneasy except the toddlers who were oblivious to the whole thing.

"Look, why does everyone get all tense when I mention my father?" Wanda asked, irritated. "I am not stupid you know. I notice this stuff."

"Well, your dad wasn't so...nice...to any of us." Evan tried to explain.

"You're just saying that because you hate my brother Daniels." Wanda said lightly. She thought that their whole feud was stupid, even though she couldn't remember when it had started or what it was over. But, she tended to side with Evan sometimes because she knew that her brother could be every bit the egotistical jerk that Evan claimed. 

"Ok! Ok! Both-of-you-hate-me. Great. I-accept-this. But-why-do-you-have-to-take-so-long-arguing?" Pietro shook his head. He did not even try to mask his disgust. "Just-hand-Toad-to-me-will-you-sis?"

Wanda rolled her eyes and she lifted the infant into her arms. She wrinkled up her nose and looked as if she would rather eat dung than hold the boy she couldn't stand in her arms. Or at least she looked like gloves would have been welcomed. He giggled as she moved him upwards abruptly and this shocked Wanda for a second. Toad may have been a smelly, over affectionate teenager, and he was assuredly a smelly, disgusting baby, but he had the most adorable smile. The way his yellow-ish green eyes lit up his whole face was oh-so-sweet.

"Hewipane! (A/N: a baby-talk mixture of helicopter and airplane. I am going to be doing a lot of baby-talk in the upcoming stuff. Don't worry....I'll translate...)Hewipane go 'gain!" He squealed in giddiness.

Wanda kept a poker face as she deposited the squirmy baby into her brother's arms. But she could not help but notice that she didn't mind holding the baby that much. Granted, it could have been more pleasant if said baby was not the boy she hated most in the world. But still, she could not shake the feeling that babies did not irk her as much as anybody else did. She pushed these foreign thoughts out of her mind and blinked.

Pietro finished changing his teammate in about .0000005 seconds and then washed his hands. When he finished, he looked positively disgusted.

"Ok. I-still-don't-like-babies. But-now-that-I-took-care-of-that-emergency, we-need-more-stuff. Babies-are-nasty-little-buggers-and-keeping-them-remotely-clean-for-more-than-an-hour-tops-is-like-trying-to-tell-Pryde-to-talk-without-saying-"like"-"whatever"-or-"totally"-in-any-given-sentence." The people who caught what he said nodded. Kitty was a great person, but she did overdo the "likes" sometimes.

"So-we-have-to-go-out-and-shop. We-have-a-bunch-of-babies-for-an-unknown-amount-of-time. And-Lance-is-right. We-can't-tell-Xavier. Do-the-words-Wolverine-danger-room-sessions-and-in-serious-trouble-come-to-your-minds? Hello! This-is-bad. I-do-not-want-to-be-grounded-until-I'm-as-dull-as-Summers! I-have-too-many-dates-lined-up-to-stay-at-home! And-I-look-way-too-hot-to-be-a-stick-in-the-mud! I-mean-look-at-me, my-gorgeous-hair-and-body-belong-to-girls-everywhere! Cuz-what-girl-wouldn't-want-to-be-with-me?" (A/N: *cough* ME! Sixteen-year olds should NOT have white hair! And I think his ego needs a serious deflating. WHO'S WITH ME?!?!! *crickets chirping* §___§. Oops. I'll just shut up now, then.)

"Careful Pietro, your ego's showing." Lance said warningly.

"Really?" Pietro frowned. "Is it interfering with my looks? Quick Lance hand me a mirror!"

"Loser." Lance smiled at his best friend's patheticness.

"Could not agree more Alvers." Evan smirked. "So where should we go to get baby stuff. I don't really know much more about babies than they dirty their diapers and smell and that they-" He was interrupted by a cry from four year old Remy and three-year-old Rogue yelling furiously at him. "-do that." Evan finished with a sigh.

"Rogue, what's wrong?" Wanda hurried over and pulled the angry girl off of Remy who glared.

"Don't call me that, bad lady!" Rogue scowled. "Mah name is Marie! Not Rogue!"

"She kicked Remy's knee." The little Cajun pouted and rolled up his pants leg to reveal a swollen red area that would be a nasty bruise in an hour or so. In fact, it was already.

"Cuz he pushed me." Rogue scowled.

"Cuz she said Remy's eyes be stupid." Remy looked at Wanda innocently.

"Ah did that cuz he pulled my hair!" Rogue glowered defensively,

"Well, her hair be weird!" Remy explained. "Look at it!" Wanda sighed. 

"Does anybody have some Advil or something?" She asked. "No? Ok. Remy, you can't pull her hair, or call it weird, or push her."

"Remy's sorry." He hung his head like a whipped puppy.

"And Ro-Marie, please don't kick, hit, punch, or otherwise hurt Remy. And don't call his eyes stupid."  
"Sorry." The little girl mumbled and kicked at the rug a little. "But, still...he was awful mean ta meh."

"What else is new?" Lance muttered under his breath. "This is not going to be too fun. These two were bad enough when they were teenagers. As toddlers, I can already tell that they are going to be little hellions. Is it too late to withdraw myself from the Institute?"

"Oh quit whahnin' (whining) misteh (mister)!" Rogue crossed her arms. "An' tell us what yah sayin'! An' tell all o' us who y'all are. Peez?" She trained her adorably large emerald eyes to Lance and he smiled. He never could resist that expression on anybody. But it seemed that he was particularly weak to Kitty and Rogue's versions of it.

"Ok, Marie. I'm Lance. This is Jamie, Rahne, Amanda, Evan, Jubilee, Ray, Roberto, Wanda and Sam." The older boy gestured to each of them in turn. "And the moron over here with white hair is Pietro."

Marie wrinkled her nose at the boy who glared at his friend and stuck out his tongue immaturely. "Who'd go an' name a guy Peeto?" She asked. "That's a weirder name than the red-head over there gots. An' she gots named afteh (after) pants."

Pietro grew upset. "You-little-brat! My-name-is-not "Peeto" it-is-Pietro!" He scowled at the child who glared right back.

"Pietro! You can't yell at a little girl!" Lance said agitated. "It's not her fault she can't pronounce your name now is it?"

"Sorry." He grunted partially to Lance and partially to Rogue.

"Ok. Now I know who y'all are, whah are weh all here?"

"Well, uh...I guess we'll be taking care of you for a while, kiddo." Lance explained.

A light of recognition clicked on in her eyes. "Kinda like dayscare? When'll mah mama come git meh then?" She asked innocently.

"Um...well...uh...You see, Rog-I mean Marie, it'll be for a while. Its not really like daycare because you'll be here a little longer than one day. Actually, we don't even know how long. And your mama is..." Lance paused. Looking into Rogue's sad eyes he couldn't bear to tell her the truth. He looked to his friends for help. How could the forces of fate force him to tell such a sweet and innocent looking baby girl that her mother was missing and had been for a while. That she had not returned after the fight with the evil mutant Apocalypse. (A/N: I know that it did not really happen this way but bear with me. This is *cough* fanfiction. So just pretend that after that battle Mystique and Magneto disappeared and that is why the Brotherhood and Acolytes joined the X-Men. =P)

"Your-mother-is...on-vacation." Pietro said confidently. But Rogue noticed his hesitation.

"Don't lah (lie) ta meh, Peeto!" She muttered sadly. "Mah mama isn't comin' back is she? She ain't on no vacation." The look on the older kids' faces confirmed this for her. "This ain't dayscare neither. Its just anotheh ohph'nage (orphanage), ain't it?" The look on her little face was heartbreaking. "Mah mama hates meh. She 'banded (abandoned) meh, jus' lahke mah birf (birth) mama did."

"Oh no!" Lance cried out. "This is not an orphanage, sweetie. This is definately not forever! And your mama didn't abandon you. She loved-no-loves you very much I'm sure."

Rogue cast a mournful look to the nine-teen year old. "Then whah ain't she here with meh?"

"Silly Marie." Remy laughed. "Y' mére always be wit' y'. Remy's maman went t' Heaven a li'l while 'go. But Remy knows dat she always wit him. She said so de day she died. She said dat a mére is always wit' her enfant (child). An' when a mére dies she watches her baby from Heaven fo'eve'."

Rogue smiled at his wise words. "Yah really think so? Yah think mah mama's with meh even though she went away fo' a while?"

"Remy don't t'ink it. He knows it." Remy smiled confidently. "Can't see nobody bandinin' (abandoning) y' anyways. Y' pretty," he smiled at her. "Y' def'nately strong." He winced and rubbed his knee and gently touched his nose. "Y' gotsa cute atsent (accent)." She smiled. "An' y' eyes look like em'ral's." He grinned as she smiled at the compliments. "An' it don' even matte' none dat y' a méchante (mean) li'l river rat wit' weird hair dat likes t' beat pauvre (poor) Remy up." Rogue rolled her eyes. All the non-toddler girls squealed at how adorable that was. Except Wanda. She doesn't do the squealing thing. "An' believe Remy, bein' 'banded ain't dis much fun. Remy knows. He was banded till not so long 'go." He nodded.

"Why did yah get banded (abandoned)? The ohph'nage (orphanage) people told meh that mah birf (birth) mama lefted meh cuz Ah'm a bad li'l girl cuz Ah gots too strong a spirit. An' Ah fight a lot."

"Don' Remy know dat," he winced and rubbed his swollen knee tenderly. "Anyways, Remy's birt' (birth) maman (mommy) and papa di'n' like Remy's red and black eyes. Dey t'ought (thought) dat Remy be ebil (evil)." The little Cajun shrugged sadly. "Don' t'ink Remy be ebil (evil). But Tante Matte says dat sometimes Remy be like a debil (devil) child. An' she knows everyt'in' dere is t' know in de whole world. So maybe Remy be evil."

"Annoyin' yeah, but yah not ebil (evil) Remy." Marie chided. "Mah daddy was though."(This is gonna be a BIG thing later so don't forget it...) "He left mah mama after she dropped mah baby brotheh in a river. An' he 'sperimented on all o' us too." (In this story Mystique did not adopt Rogue at four because if she did, then my story does not work. So lets just give the figure of two years old, shall we...? I promise all will be explained later...=)

Remy tutted. And right there, at that moment in time, it was obvious that a miracle had happened. Rogue had befriended Remy LeBeau. It became clear as he hugged her. Just a little and only for just a moment. But still, a strange and unexpected friendship had formed. Who would have thought that it required the two of them to literally going back to their days in diapers to forge this friendship?

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Hello! I am back. Did any of you worry I had dropped off the face of the Earth? Probably not, so I am VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY sorry. That is the best thing I can do. I could offer a million different excuses but I know you don't want them so I can only apologize...

So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Still too mad at dis pauvre fille to think about your opinion? Think trained assassin penguins should peck me to death? All you have to do is tell me. COME ON PEOPLE I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! YOU KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! SO SAVE US ALL SOME HEADACHES AND REVIEW ALREADY!! 

Ok. I'm done ranting on that. Last time I gave a question for y'all to ponder. Thank you again **howlerdrode** for answering. This time the question is not a Marvel/DC comic thing. Here goes.

Who would win a race between Pietro and Sonic the hedgehog?

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We are sorry to interrupt your normally scheduled programming. But it has come to our attention through one **Girl Number 1** that Marvel has a huge secret regarding one Remy LeBeau. He is the third Summers brother. Repeat. Remy LeBeau is the third Summers brother. This is not a test thank you for your cooperation. Repeat this is not a test.

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You heard the creepy announcer thing! Gambit is a Summers! Oh the twisted agony! The horror! The irony! This must be a sign of the Apocalypse! Head for the hills! Run! *pauses* But for the love of Pixie-stix, REVIEW FIRST!*Runs off in terror whilst screaming about how the world is ending*

completed on March 7, 2004 


	7. TV TIME

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Are you Ready to Rock? Are you Ready to Roll? 

Cuz guess who's back, back, back, back again!

Yeah!

Ok. Yes that was entirely too random. But I really am here. I am trying to rush things because I took so long on the last chapter. First order of business...*looks at chart that magically appeared in hand* Oh yes, my apology.

Hem. Hem. First and foremost I have to apologize to **Girl Number 1**. Yes. I severely misinterpreted her comment about the Gambit/Summers issue. That was just a false alarm. Turns out the "not a test" banner on my last chapter was a test. Hee Hee. Funny huh? So it turns out that I mislead a whole lot of you. So if any of you were pelting poor **Girl Number 1** with threats and screams and questions quit immediately. In fact if you are one of the people who went after her for saying that, apologize. I am the slightly air-headed person who misinterpreted the comment. *hangs head in shame* I deserve one hundred lashings with a wet noodle, at the hands of the Mary Sues, don't I? I am sorry to all of you who believed the mistake I made. And I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo terribly sorry **Girl Number 1**!!!!!!!!!! Can you find it in your heart to forgive this terribly sorry and misinterpreting girl? *makes a puppy dog face*

Ok second on the list...*checks list* Oh that...

Ok. Second apology. I am terribly sorry my last update took forever. I have a lot of legitimate excuses really. But I am not going to bother you with them. But I feel inclined to point out that I did say "ALMOST" religiously.

Next item of business...Oh yes. I have an announcement to make. Don't worry, I can vouch that this is true since it comes from me. I have chosen to send Steffiny-Stacy directly to the round file. (authoress's code for garbage can). She was way too close to being a Mary Sue for comfort and she did not have any real point. I also have made some changes in Carmen and Angelique. Said changes will be revealed as the characters are. That does not include the semi-cameo Carmen has in this chapter or Angelique's in chapter ten.

*checks off all completed items on list.* OH! I have to update my family profile! It now includes a new baby! Dobby Nicholas Trouble is(are) his name(s). He is a little striped kitty with gorgeous markings like a real tiger only he is black and gray. He is named after Dobby the house elf in Harry Potter because he has ridiculously ginormous ears and big silly green eyes. And he is a little handful of mischief. But its a good thing people don't think I have suicidal tendencies (don't worry I don't and never will). He has scratched my arms and shoulders up so much while he climbs on me and we play. I love him so much though so the cuts are worth it.

*looks at list* Shout outs next!

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Little Byrdie: Ok. I have an announcement for you. Don't worry. Remy and Scott are NOT brothers. I made a mistake and misinterpreted Girl Number 1's comment she made to me. But when I first saw that, I cried. Actually I think I might have had a heart attack or something. Anywhoozles, I am glad you like my story. I am also glad you think it is funny. Yeah. You really do need to stay away from sugar and coffee. But I go nuts on the stuff so I can't really talk...*grins insanely and surreptitiously hides giant Cappuccino mug*

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Girl Number 1: I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry! I feel so stupid! I misinterpreted your comment! I feel like I am having a blonde moment! (No offense to any blonds) I am not even blonde though...my hair is Auburn. Alix is blonde not me! Forgive me, Please! Anywhoozles, yeah, the OC's are not going to come in for a while. Carmen has a semi-cameo in this chapter and same goes for Angélique in chapter 10. But nothing major for a while. Steffiny-Stacy is not really a loss. She didn't fit in at all. I think I over accessorized by creating her in the first place. I won't mourn the loss so don't feel too sorry. I am glad you liked this chapter and as to your ideas about Remy and Rogue and Mystique...An artist never gives away insight to their masterpieces before they are finished...*smirks* you will just have to wait and see...

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SperryDee: Did I spell your name right? I again must state that Remy and Scott are not brothers. Sorry. I didn't mean to ick you out. Anyway, I am glad you like this story.

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ishandahalf: I agree, they are all so adorable! Aren't they just the bees-knees? I love writing this! I'm glad you like the pre-pubescent Romyness. Or should I call it pre-kindergarten since Remy will have to go to (dun, dun, dun...) kindergarten if he is still a little kid at the end of the summer! Will they remember? Hm, interesting question. You know I haven't really decided yet, honestly. There are pros and cons to both. But even if they don't remember the "older" kids do. And then there's the pictures...But on the other hand, if they do remember, I could do a lot of fun fluffiness...I guess you will just have to wait...Don't worry. Things won't get too Romantic while they are little kids. I know when enough is enough. I also know that they're innocent and sweet and why ruin that with bad things. But all the same, Remy and Rogue make an adorable couple at any age. So is this fast enough for ya? Just how fast do these bunnies of yours go anyway?

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Howlerdrode: Oh so this is the funniest chapter yet huh? Well I am glad to hear it. I am pleased that you like all the action and super glad that you didn't need to borrow your friend Steve's glucose meter. Uh...what the blood-moon-bayou is that anyway? You are curious as to how Forge is so brilliant yet makes so many mistakes? Duh! Everyone makes mistakes. Heck According to the Ellimist, Rachel, warrior princess/mall rat herself was a mistake of nature! Sabotage hmm, interesting concept. But I am afraid that Ellimist and Crayak can't touch the mutants. Its one of the rules of their game set by Noitoma (I do believe if you are a true enough Anifan you know who she is...) Though, those meddling fools have been toying around with a few of my other story ideas. Blast them! *sighs* For the bazillionth time, I KNOW THE FREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT WAS WRONG! Sorry I know I shouldn't yell...Ok now one-second dude! When I misinterpreted the comment I did think the world was ending thank you very much! And I am not an idiot, I did not think the sky was falling! And MY NAME IS NOT CHICKEN LITTLE!! Tis Heartsyhawk, so there! *"maturely" sticks out tongue* So who is this Maria Anna Darkholme person anyway? If you mean Marie, oh yeah, she's worse than any of the 'ssassins (as everyone's favorite little Cajun would say). Much worse. But she doesn't really know to much about the guild war and junk like that...She is on'y free afte' all... As for the incredibly civilized way the free an' fo' year olds talk...CUT ME SOME SLACK will yah? I'm still a newbie-no matter how many people like this! Its been a little while since I was that young and even though I remember my little sister's infancy slightly, that was a while ago too! I promise it will get better with time, just like my accents. (Only don't ever count on me attempting Colossus' Russian accent. I will not ever get the Russian accent down or Kurt's German one so bear with me on this one and pretend that they are speaking with their accents.) DUH! Of course Scott is destined to always be an idiot! What else could he possibly be? (though it is not entirely his fault. He does have that brain damage after all...) Hee-Hee-Hee! Crystal? As in the inhuman? Hm, Pietro might like that...Isn't she the one that he ended up married AND divorced to? And if I recall correctly, they have a daughter named Luna...That could be fun to work with...ACK ALIX STOP STRANGLING ME!!!! X_X (I be a dead fille!)

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Boston Dudette: Hilo and welcome to the magical world of me! Ok, the reason I did not go into great detail about the de-aging thing was because it was just an instantaneous poof-like transformation. There was no visible transformation that could have been watched. One minute they were sixteen-nineteen years old, the next they were one-four years old. And Besides. Forge's creations scare even me*shudders*. Trouble (the mouse) is behaving most efficiently! Thank you for asking/stating. *Smiles*Yes, I must agree with you, even as toddlers the love-hate relationship Rogue and Remy have is working for them. My funny lines are my spécialité. One of my favorite quotes is "the person who can laugh at themselves will never cease to be amused." Don't know who said it but they are definately right. I love writing my funny lines because they make me laugh. Sometimes my friends and family believe I am possessed or something when I am rereading my own work or even typing and I burst into hysterical laughter at random moments. Lets see, I will work on the less is more thing now. Thank you for the suggestion. I had already decided that the French would be cut a bit since they're little kids now and don't need to worry about hiding arguments behind fluent French. As for the accents, I apologize but I can't take them away and in good conscience do that. Its part of who they are. Doing that would be like taking Harry Potter's wand and scar away from him. Or Jean's red hair and preppy-ness. Or Rogue's white striped hair. Or Scott's shades. Or...I think you get the point. Sorry. Anywhoozles, glad you liked so much of the story. I will keep it coming for as long as I can.

*looks down at list* Oh joy! One last thing! *sarcastic* And its everyone's favorite part of reading or writing any story...The Disclaimer! Joyous occasion!

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Disclaimer:_ Hmmm. Somehow the words "Heartsyhawk" , "owns", and "X-men Evolution" do not fit into a single sentence unless "does not" is in between the first two words and you drop the 's' after "owns" . They do have a lovely ring to them though...And that is the precise reason we must all hunt my elusive pink sock. My sources confirm that the little bugger has been spotted in Albania...but who knows, it may have moved...Just a confirmation. Heartsyhawk does not I repeat NOT own X-men Evolution or any of the other corporations/products/companies mentioned that are real entities...YET..._

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"Ok-so-are-we-all-agreed-on-going-to-Babies-R-Us?" Pietro asked impatiently. "I-don't-exactly-have-time-for-too-much-lolly-gagging! I-have-about-four-dates-lined-up-for-tonight!"

"Well, you'll just have to cancel them, Pietro." Lance grumbled. He was upset because he and Kitty were supposed to have a date tonight which obviously was postponed. 

"Well-excuse-me-Mr.-Grumpy-Guts!" Pietro scoffed. "But-not-all-of-us-have-the-issue-of-their-girlfriend-being-an-infant-now-do-we?!"

"Well at least he has a steady girlfriend." Wanda snapped. She was fast becoming irritated with the two boys who were supposed to be best friends, bickering like they were the toddlers.

"HEY! Whatever-happened-to-not-getting-into-each-other's-romance-lives? Huh-sis?" Pietro snapped at her.

"What Romance life?" She snorted. "You are not romantic. You pretend to be, when you are with those idiot twit girlfriends of yours but I doubt you even remember the names of ten of them from more than a week ago."

Pietro gaped and opened his mouth and then shut it. "Oh-like-you-are-so-much-better! You've-never-even-been-on-a-real-date-have-you?"

"How should I know why father never let me date?" Wanda snarled at her twin. Her fists were balled up and glowing an eerie blue. "And just because I haven't had a hundred or more people date me does not mean I don't have Romance! And its none of your business!" 

Piotr stepped bravely in between the two fighting siblings. He converted to his metal form and pushed them apart. "Really, you both need to calm down. You two are acting as if it is you who have gone back fifteen years."

The twins continued to glare at each other but with Lance restraining Pietro and Amanda with her hand on Wanda's shoulder, neither dared act.

"Ok, so, like, now what do we do about the shopping thing? Something tells me that with all the anti-mutant hysteria now a days, we can't really go as one big group. We'll be kind of conspicuous if we are recognized mutants walking around with twelve little kids." Jubilee wondered aloud.

"Yeah, somebody will probably start rumors about kidnapping." Evan grumbled. "Man, why did I leave the Morlocks? We never had these problems!" He shook his head. Everyone in the room gave him a dirty look.

"Look maybe if we split up inta li'l groups we'd be less conspicuous." Sam suggested. "We kin all come up with an excuse o' somethin'," he drawled in his Kentucky accent that was fading more and more with time, unlike Rogue's which flared up in full blossom at each emotional surge or whenever she was using what some of her housemates affectionately nicknamed "her version of Southern Charm". And Remy's accent, he was too...him for the accent to fade. A few of the kids had tried to break his accent and he was so stubborn he got out of the accent alright. And he refused to speak anything but French for two weeks. It nearly drove the kids crazy, so they gave up. Remy LeBeau would just always sound like he had just strutted out of the bayou.

The teens looked at each other, pondering Cannonball's comment. Usually he was so shy and distant, he seldom gave any suggestions for anything. The idea made sense. Of course, some of them were slightly obvious, like Pietro with his white hair, Jean with her flaming hair, Scott with his shades, Rogue with her stripes, and Remy with his exotic eyes. But fortunately the professor had given them image inducers like Kurt's si they could freely enjoy being in public without ridicule. Of course Jean refused to wear hers saying she loved her perfect red-hair too much. And Rogue felt it was the coward's way out and besides. Her stripes were part of her gothic image. She felt weird to cover them up. Scott accepted as he always wanted to be normal. And Remy accepted because he didn't have to much luck flirting if he was frequently being mistaken for the devil with his demonic eyes. He either had to wear shades inside to protect his eyes from the bright light of the indoors, due to the sensitivity of his eyes to light, or wear the inducer which acted as sunglasses too. And heaven forbid anyone ever mistake him for being some relation to Scott ever again. (Tee-hee. Wonder who that was...) 

For a few moments the older kids discussed something or other and the little kids wandered into the next room, where they found a very large TV. And of course, to little kids, being little kids, TV=cartoons. They all sat intrigued by the plasma screen TV that stood at least twice the height of Remy who stood the tallest of the group. (Which is not saying too much because they are only toddlers.)

At that moment all ten of the kids who could understand what this was, (Toad and Amara are only one and one and a half respectively so they didn't quite grasp the concept) decided they had died and gone to heaven. Actually Fred's exact words were. "If this is to'ture (torture), chain me to the wall!"(A/N: Reference to Disney's Oliver and Company. Don't own that movie.)

Rogue climbed on the coffee table and retrieved the remote. "Ah found the clickeh (Clicker[baby talk for remote])! What's on?" She dropped to the floor and accidentally knocked Remy down because he had been holding out a hand to help her down. 

"Ouch." He complained as she climbed off him and pulled him up. This threw off her weight so both of them toppled over again, laughing. They righted themselves and just stayed on the floor in front of the TV.

"Sowwy (Sorry) Wemy (Remy). Ah di'n' (didn't) mean ta huwt (hurt) yah." She flashed him an adorable three year old's I-didn't-mean-to-do-it grin. He smiled back at her.

"N'y a pas de quoi, Marie. (Il n'y a pas de quoi. {its not a problem/ don't worry about it})" The age-reversed Cajun's French was still fast and fluent but more at the level that a non-native French speaking person could possibly translate. "Mais, Remy's name ain' 'Wemy'. It be Remy. Wit' a "R"."

Rogue shrugged and pushed a few buttons until the screen came on. "Aws (r's) are hawd (hard) ta pwonounce." She said non-commitedly. 

"Nuh-uh!" Remy chuckled. "Remy kin teach y'. Say R."

"Aw" Rogue sighed.

"Non (no), R. Punnounced (pronounced) Arah." He corrected gently.

"Aw-r" Rogue forced. She looked quite pleased with herself. Looking at her you would think she was a thief who had just discovered a secret passage into the Louvre. "Aw-r. Aw-r. Are. Ara. Awra. Awrah. Arah! Ah kin do it!" She squealed.

He nodded. "Now say Remy's name."

"Remy's name." She smirked at her own wise comment.

"Dat not what Remy meant, p'tite. (petite)." He smirked at her and she giggled. (A/N: I know Rogue doesn't giggle but she's three. I have yet to meet a three-year-old who doesn't giggle when they've out smarted somebody. Especially somebody older.)

"Ah know that." She rolled her eyes. "But yah told meh ta say "Remy's name". That's all Ah did." She batted her eyes innocently. 

"Y' kinda 'mind (remind) Remy o' Belle. She be m' gillfriend (girlfriend) an' 'm (I'm) gonna marry her someday. But she likes teasin' Remy too."

Rogue shrugged impishly. She pushed a few random buttons on the remote to change the channel.

"Look for "My Little Pony" Kitty chirped. 

"No, that's stupid!" Kurt whined. "Me wanna watch "Gargoyles"!" The little blue boy bounced around as if he was hyper. 

"Gahgoyles? (Gargoyles)" Bobby cried incredulously. "No! We gotsa watch the skatin' peebles (peoples) at the limp-icks (Olympics)!"

"Look, kid, not gonna watch a dumb 'dult (adult) show." Tabby whined. "An' if we are, we gotsa watch "'Brina the team-age itch. Or Cl'issa 'Splains it all. Ohhhh! Me know, me know! The Flower Rangers! I like the pink ranger!. (Sabrina the teenage witch and Clarissa explains it all. The "Flower Rangers" is Tabby talk for Power Rangers. And what little girl didn't like the pink ranger? Other than me...I have always hated pink. I was more into the Yellow ranger myself, and then there was the blue ranger...)

"Those are ok. But I wanna see " the Muppet Babies"!" St. John cheered happily.

"That show is stupid," Scott chided. "Mom says that little kids should only watch ed-ick-cake-in-shull (educational) shows on TB (TV). So I think it would be good to watch Barney the Dime-o-sort. (Dinosaur)." All the other kids gave him a disgusted glare.

"Can we watch the food channel?" Fred pleaded as they passed it. Everybody shook his or her heads at once.

"Guys!" Jean snapped arrogantly. "It isn't even our TB (TV)! We gotsa ask for pemission. (permission)." Then she paused and pondered. "But if we can, we hafta watch Full House. None of yours were any good. Its lucky for you that I am so much betterer and smarterer than all of you." Her little speech caused a large number of angry protests and several toddlers were plotting her death. Remy stood up and walked around her in circles a few times. 

"What are you doing?" She asked with no reply. "Stop circlin' (circling) me! Its creepy."

"Remy just tryin' t' see if y' got 'nuff (enough) meat on y' t' feed t' de gators. Got dis one in m' back yard...but y' too skinny. Besides, Remy bet y' taste de way y' act." He paused dramatically. "Nasty."

Jean burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. She sat on the couch sobbing. 

"Remy wouldn' feed her t' Spot an'ways (anyways). She'd prolly make him sick." Remy laughed and turned to Rogue. She had just had a lot of requests and A) she did not like any of them. and B) she was now terribly confused. Remy saw this.

"Hey you guys, quit! Y' confusin' Marie!" He glared at all of the others. It was almost as if he was daring them to dispute what he said. He turned to his frustrated friend and grinned. "We gonna watch what she wants."

Rogue smiled and dared anyone to dispute it. Nobody did, so she pressed the buttons to change the channel. Many shows none of them had ever seen flashed by. 

"News, icky. Weatheh (weather), borin'. Wheel o' Four-shin, who wants ta watch this junk?" Rogue grumbled. "Where are theh (they) hidin' the cahtoons? (cartoons)" She scowled at the TV as if it was deliberately keeping her away from what she wanted. She turned the channel again. They watched a few moments of some soap opera.

"Ewww!" All the kids chorused together. "Their kissin'!" Rogue switched the channel to the TV guide.

"That was gross! Whah (why) would anehbody (anybody) eveh (ever) watch that stuff/" Rogue wrinkled up her nose. "But theh (they) did look so stupid!" She giggled. "They were both lahke (like)..._Remy..."_ She turned to Remy smiling with her arms open.

"_Marie..."_ he drawled in the same tones the guy on the TV show had addressed the girl in his arms.

"_Kissy, Kissy, Kissy, Kiss." _Rogue burst into a fit of giggles. "Growed ups are so weird. Whah do they want that icky stuff?" She grinned. She changed the channel once again. 

After a maximum of four seconds of "Eh-Oh! Tubby Custard!(note: Teletubbies)" Rogue changed the channel._ Click. "What should we do Boots? Who knows how to get to the big mountain?" "The map! Check the map!" "Great idea Boots!" "I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map. I'm the-" (note: reference Dora the Explorer)click._ "Ah thank naht. (think not)." Rogue rolled her pretty big emerald eyes.

"Oh its full house!" Jean squealed. "We gotta watch it! Hey put that back on." She whined as everyone ignored her.

"_Ohhhh, Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" Click._ "Hey that looked funny!" The pint-sized version of Pyro protested. (Phew say that ten times fast. Do I have to name the show? Fine its Sponge Bob Square Pants. There will be a unit disclaimer at the end for all cartoons and shows mentioned.) Rogue sent him a withering glare and he grinned uneasily and quieted down. Apparently, through unclear terms, the group had unanimously decided that Remy and Rogue were the leaders of the packs. So nobody (with the possible exception of Scott and Jean) was questioning their authority.

"When did all dese shows start?" Remy pouted. "Remy knows dat he don' watch dat much TV but he don' even rec'nize none o' dis."

"Maybe these peebles gots mo' chammels than we gots at home." Rogue shrugged. She groaned in disgust upon finding commercials on the channel she had just changed to. "Who in theh (their) rahght (right) head would wanna go s'port the Yankees?" Rogue looked extremely offended. "Back at home, everybody s'ports the Bulldogs! Dumb ole' Yankees." She stuck out her tongue. (hah-hah-hee-hee)

When the show came back on, Rogue practically screamed and threw the remote. She covered her eyes and whimpered loudly.

"What's wrong, Marie?" Remy asked, concerned for his friend. 

Rogue pointed in horror at the terrible thing on TV. It was, ugh! Almost too horrible to type! It was, one of those awful Barbie movies! Kitty squealed in delight and bounced up and down hyperly. 

"Lets watch it, pleeeeeeeease?!" She begged. All the boys were cringing in terror, but Jean looked interested, and Tabby seemed amused.

"Non! Look it. Marie don' wanna watch dat! An' Remy don' blame her." With that he furiously changed the channel while pulling the poor trembling girl close to him. The next show was lots of people in red bathing suits and on a beach. 

Remy sat looking transfixed at the screen for a few moments. "Remy's frére (brother) watches dis. It be called "Bay Wash"(Note: Baywatch) ou (or) somet'in'. Dunn (don't) know why but Henri an' Papa like it a lot."

"Kinda borin', huh?" Rogue shifted her position so she was leaning on Remy's shoulder. "All theh (their) doin' is rescuin' peebles (rescuing peoples{people})."

Remy shrugged. "Yeah. But it 'minds Remy dat its de summer an' Remy's parents gotta take Remy swimmin' soon." He smiled. "Maybe de people here kin take us instead!"

Rogue instantly tensed up. Her eyes widened in what was unmistakably fear. "What wrong?" He asked her, confused.

"Uh, Ah can' swim good." She looked at her feet. "An' Ah realleh (really) don' like the wateh (water)." 

"Why not?" He tilted his head to the side. Didn't all kids love the water?

"Ah almost drowneded when Ah was a babeh (baby). It was scary." Rogue widened her eyes as if begging her friend to understand. "Ah can't swim. An' the wateh (water) still scares meh."

Whatever she was expecting, his reaction was the opposite. To her surprise, Remy burst out laughing. She huffed and pushed him so that he fell away. "Don' laugh at meh!"

He chuckled again but stopped when he saw the hurt in her eyes. "Remy sorry Marie. Just dat, Remy t'ought dat all kids could swim. Heck, Remy bin doin' it since he was two at least. Neve' met no one who couldn' swim befo'." She relaxed and tilted her head.

"Realleh (really)? Ah neveh met a kid who could swim afore (before). Back home, nobody mah age knows how."

"Remy could teach y' if y' want, Chérie." He gave her one of his trademark irresistible grins that were at least 50 times cuter than when they were fifteen years later.

"Could yah?" She smiled.

"Remy don' lie. At least not t' filles. (girls)."

Rogue nodded and then looked back at the TV. She changed the channel one more time and gave a squeal of delight. "Scooby-Doo! Ah love Scooby-Doo!" The other kids decided that they liked her taste and got comfortable. After five minutes they all grumbled when it was over.

"That was awesome!" Scott cheered.

"Yeah," Kurt agreed while nodding his fuzzy blue head in excitement. "Who vould have thought that the swamp thing was Mr. Smith though?"

"Anybody, duh!!!" Jean rolled her eyes. "But I liked how Daphne was so pretty! She's the best of all the Mister E ink (mystery inc) people."

"Nuh-uh!" Tabby stuck her tongue out. "She always gits cab-sured ( gets captured). Me think she a idiot!" Jean rolled her eyes.

"As if! Its not ever her fault! Dumb old Velma and Shaggy and Scooby get her caught. But isn't Freddy dreamy?" She sighed. (Remember she does have an older sister who probably talks about boys all the time.)

"Nope." Rogue glared at the other girl defiantly. "And the Swamp Thing wasn't even scary after Ah sawed the episode fo' the sixth time either. But it was so cool! Ah always wanted a doggy!"

"You're wrong!" Jean snapped. "The Swamp Thing is icky and VERY scary."

"It ain't even realistic..." Rogue grumbled. 

"Was too!" Jean whined. "Just ask Remy. He lives in the Swamps. Go ahead Remy, tell Marie all about how the Swamp Thing looks like the real monsters in the swamps. Tell her." Jean gave him an annoying know-it-all style grin.

"Don't be dumb red head!" Rogue snapped. "Ah live in the same Nick of wood (nick of the woods) as he does. Ah ought ta know."

"Well lets let him tell it like it is." Jean said nastily.

"Well, Jeannie, since y' asked..." Remy paused dramatically. "Y' 'bout as wrong as y' kin get an' still have said somet'in'." Jean's jaw fell open.

"But...I'm never wrong! There's got to be some mistake. Leave it to you to take her side!" Jean wailed.

"Remy not takin' her side." The older boy said calmly. "Jus' tellin' de trut' silly. An' if y' listened earlier, Remy said he don' lie t' filles (girls). So dere."

"Hmph. I bet the dumb ole' (old) Swamp Thing doesn't even exist." Jean pouted.

"He does so!" Remy and Rogue yelled at the same time. They turned towards each other and grinned wickedly. Both of them knew that there was no such thing as any Swamp thing, but they wanted to see how far they could push Jean into believing it.

"How can y' not know 'bout de Swamp T'in' (Thing)?!" Remy asked as if mortally wounded by this fact.

"All kids gotta know bou' (about) the Swamp Thing." Rogue declared with a perfectly straight face.

Jean shook her head, a little nervously. "N-n-no. But you two are just joking, r-r-r-right?"

"The Swamp T'in' 'bout as much a joke as playin' dentist wit' a gator." Remy nodded seriously. 

"Yeah, he's mean an' vicious an' everythin'!" Rogue said enthusiastically.

"He gots real big shiny teef (teeth). An' a bazillion scales an' nasty claws." Remy said in an awed whisper.

"An' a long bushy tail, with ho'ible (horrible) yeller (yellow) eyes an' he makes a evil soundin' noise if y' come near him."

Remy nodded in agreement with his friend. "An' he likes t' try an' eat up li'l kids wit' red hair." Jean's eyes widened in fear.

"You two are lying!" She said, sounding as if she was trying to sound like she was trying to convince herself.

"Nope. If y' don' believe us...y' could always go ask Corey Swiss (based on a kid I hate. "Corey Swiss" does not exist but picture him as an obnoxious red head much like our little Jean. Even though the kid this one's based off has dirty blonde hair...)...Oh wait...y' can't..."

"W-Who is that?" Jean asked nervously. 

"Oh just a kid wit' red hair dat di'n' believe in de Swamp T'in' neit'er. (neither). He wented down t' de Bayou..."

"An' they neve' sawed him neve' again." Rogue finished mysteriously.

Jean burst into tears and threw herself into the corner of the room, weeping hysterically. 

Remy and Rogue burst into identical, evil grins. "That was so awesome!" They said simultaneously.

"She believed it!" Rogue giggled.

"De look on her face!" Remy chuckled.

"Uh, by the way what were yah scribin' (describing) ta her anyway?"

"So yah know dat Remy wasn't tellin' her bout de real Swamp T'in'?"

"Duh! Who wouldn't" Rogue scoffed.

"Well, Remy was talkin' bout Spot. How bout y'?"

"Actually, Ah was describin' mah Auntie Ahrene's (Irene's) kitty cat. His name is Boots an' he's evil. Ah hate him! Cats are dumb!" She scowled. (A/N: I must say that I love kitties! But Rogue made it quite clear in "The Cauldron Pt. 1" that she hates them. You know, when she told Mystique who was a cat to "shoo" and then she told Evan, Kitty, and Kurt "Ugh, Ah hate cats"?)

Remy laughed and grinned. "We make quite a team!"

"Yeah." Rogue smiled. Then she frowned slightly and whispered in his ear. "Yah were jus' jokin' 'bout Spot likin' ta eat red heads right?" Remy's eyes traced the small girl's face up to the bright auburn hair that looked red depending on the light.

"O' course." He nodded and gestured to his own copper hair. "He only tries t' take a bite outta y' if wake him up or try t' poke his eye wit' Papa's bow staff." She gave him a questioning glance and he rolled up his shirtsleeve. He pointed to a nasty scar. "Got dis de first day Remy got t' his new home. Saw him sittin' on de shore o' de River. Remy was playin' wit' one o' de bow staffs from de house. So Remy poked the gator cuz he looked dead t' Remy. Lets just say dat he di'n' like it much. So as comp'sation, (compensation) he tried t' eat Remy's arm off." 

"Were yah real scared?" Rogue asked. "Did it hurt?" She still seemed interested in gory creepy details even as a three-year-old. "Did yah bleed all over?"

"Nope, nah, not really, and yep." Remy answered grimly. His friend's eyes widened as she regarded him like some kind of hero. "It was awful! Remy jus' whacked him wit' de staff till he let go. Den de gator crawled back int' de river an' Remy went back in de house." He shrugged as if this was no big deal. But inside, he was reliving the memory...

~~~~~~~~~~ (flashback)~~~~~~~~~~

__

A tiny child sat on the bank of the Mississippi River. He was playing with a bow staff he had removed from his new father's pocket upon arrival at the Thieves Guild Stronghold manor. Jean-Luc LeBeau prided himself on its expert use. Remy so badly wanted to wield it like his new adopted father did. He was teaching himself how to use it so that he could make Jean-Luc proud. And then maybe Henri wouldn't poke fun at his eyes and that mean bully Julian from the Assassins Guild would think twice before calling him a useless pipsqueak It wasn't his fault that he was shorter than the other boys around here. They were all at least seven or eight years older than he was anyway. And that pretty little girl Bella, well she was petite. But she didn't count because she was a year or so younger than Remy was anyways. And Remy didn't want to be useless. He was only four! How much could they expect from him?! He wasn't born into the guild life like they were! He'd show them useless as soon as he got some decent training.

All of a sudden, the light from the sun pulled the scowling four-year-old's attention to a gigantic monster. "A gator!" The boy thought. "If Remy could kill it, maybe then people wouldn't think Remy is useless!" Smiling he hurried over to it. When he noticed its size he gulped. "Its gotta be at least sixty-eleven times bigger than Remy! Maybe it wants t' be Remy's friend. Den he could protect Remy from de older boys. But Remy think it be dead." 

The little boy unleashed his father's staff to its full height and gently prodded the creature in the head. Then the snout. Finally he lost all patience and jabbed the bow staff right into the monster's eye. "Wake UP!"

And wake up it did. It growled and lunged at the boy. The gator caught the kid by the arm and yanked like a dog on a bone.

A blood-curdling scream filled the air of the otherwise peaceful Bayou. Jean-Luc cursed his luck and rushed out to the yard his new son had been playing in. That boy had only been there for three hours and already he was causing more trouble than he was worth. Marius Boudreaux followed chuckling, with his young daughter Bella on his shoulders and Julian faithfully trailing at his heels.

"Boy, What de Sam Hill d' y' t'ink y' doin'!?!" Jean-Luc hollered at Remy who was trying to beat the gator over his head with an awfully familiar looking bow staff. Jean-Luc subconsciously reached into his pocket even though he knew his weapon wasn't there. "Son of a Brisket, boy!" He wanted to swear in annoyance at the child but he kept his temper in check in front of Marius, Bella, and Julian.

He rushed over to his newly adopted son whilst he called for Henri to bring out a gun and Mattie to hurry out here.

He reached the screaming four-year-old and removed the bow staff from his grasp. He slammed it over the gator's head and the monster released the boy and slunk back into the river. Jean-Luc LeBeau cursed at the sight of the whimpering four-year-old. "What the devil is wrong wit' y' Remy?! If y' a LeBeau, y' bette' start actin' de part!"

"Remy sorry." He cast his small red and black eyes down. "Was jus' tryin' t' make y' proud o' Remy." Jean-Luc smiled and then caught sight of the blood that was seeping down the child's left arm.

"Dieu! (God)! We bette' git y' t' y' Tante." 

The smiling face of Tante Mattie came into view. But her warm grin disappeared as she saw the young boy, who was trying desperately not to cry in his pain. She knew this boy would fit in right perfectly at the LeBeau home. A baby of four and already had too much pride to cry in front of a baby girl, his arch rival, and two grown men, one of whom happened to be his father. She shook her head and scooped the child up into her warm embrace.

"'Ello Tante Mattie. Remy fighted a ginormous gator! An' guess what?! Remy t'inks he winned."

"Did y' now? Well looks like he took a bite outta y' left arm as a prize chile (child). Lets git y' cut cleaned up so dat y'll heal right quick." The kindly woman washed the wound and tutted. "Dis is gonna need stitches. C'mere petit. Let dis ole' woman fix y' arm up proper." And she fixed his arm with fourteen stitches (cuz 13 is bad luck). Then she stepped out of the child's room and turned to Jean-Luc. "Boy, what were y' t'inkin'? He's only a chile (child)! How could y' let y' own son go play wit' de gators." She brandished her kitchen broom at the man who cowered back. "What de Sam Hill were y' doin' dat was mo' impo'tant den y' y' four year old fils huh?!"

"Um, dere was a tres (very) important business decision t' take care of between me an' Marius." The man said sheepishly.

"Well y' an Marius owe de boy an apology. Y' mean de world t' him Jean-Luc LeBeau! An' y' almost let de cher die."

"But, Mattie, twas fo' bot' de guilds." Marius tried to explain.

"Hang de guilds!" The older woman snarled. "Bot' o' dem! De deux o' y' are always fightin' dis guild war. Don't neit'er o' y' stop an' t'ink none 'bout y' familles (families). Jean-Luc, y' got Henri, an' poor Merci, an' y' wife, an' m' family involved in dis. Ain't dat 'nuff? Non, of course not! Y' got y' two-year-old daughter in trainin' an' den as if it weren't bad 'nuff, y' bringin' y' family int' dis, y' go an' take a poor orphan off o' de street an' tell him y' want t' be his pére an' de pauvre boy believes y' an' is desperate fo' y' approval when all y' want him fo' is Theivin'." Then the older woman took a deep breath and turned to the other man who was trying to slink away unnoticed.

"Where are y' goin' Marius!? Y' just as bad if not worse! Y' got y' whole family int' de killin' business! I heard dat sweet li'l two-year-old up on y' shoulder be already trained in de "art o' killin'" as y' call it.

"Yep, Belle here kin use six diff'rent weapons, sixty diff'rent ways." The head 

assassin swelled with pride. "Someday, she gonna be m' best assassin."

"Dat may be so, Marius, mais look at how brave li'l Remy handled dat Gator." Jean-Luc grinned in a fatherly fashion. "Remy got de guts. Jus' need t' work on his brain an' speed. Den he'll be de best t'eif dis side o' heck. Did I ever tell y' how I took interest in de boy? Non, don' t'ink I did. Well, de li'l scamp was able t' pick m' pocket. D' y' know how great a t'eif dat declares?"

"Maybe its just a mark dat says y' loosin' y' touch, LeBeau. Come now, Julian, Belle, t'is time t' take leave." The man reached into his coat pocket and then pulled out his hand while wearing a bewildered look. "Julian, did I give y' de keys t' de car?" The young boy shook his head.

"Lookin' fo' dese?" The four-year-old opened his bedroom door and dangled a set of car keys in front of the older man's face. 

"Loosin' m' touch indeed." Jean-Luc chortled.

"Bloody Thieves," Marius snarled and grabbed his keys.

"Father do we really want this" Julian wrinkled his nose while he thought of an appropriate adjective for the beaming four year old. "This...this...waif to marry into our family?"

"Ain't like we got much choice, Julian." Marius scowled. "Wit' Raven pullin' out wit' her fille (daughter) t' give her private teachin' , an' de gen'ral danger level o' our job, our numbers be thinnin'. Dat an' we need de marriage fo' peace between de guilds. But he is...despicable. A horrid li'l street rat marryin' m' fille (daughter). Imagine. Who'd have eve' taught dat dis scruffy li'l piglet would end up wit' our Belle angel."

As they turned to leave, Remy stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at their retreating backs.

~~~~~~~~~~(end flashback)~~~~~~~~~~

Remy shook his head to clear it of the memory. He felt slightly guilty about what he had told his friend, but it was true. He hadn't been scared-he'd been terrified. And it didn't hurt-it had felt like his arm was being pulled clear off! And he had told the total truth about the blood. He had bled all over. In fact, the hall and kitchen and his bedroom rug still had the blood stains in them.

But still, now Marie was looking at him like he was some sort of a hero.

As he was considering telling her the whole story, Lance hurried into the room. "So this is where you little rascals went. You had us worried for a few minutes." He mentally counted the kids. He had heard screaming and crying and had wisely decided that those noises were trouble when combined with toddlers. "One, two, three, four...six...nine...ten...eleven? Uh, weren't there twelve of them? Pietro? Who's missing?"

The speedster looked at the kids. "Hm, Blob-Drake-Toad-Magma-Pryde-Pyro-Nightcrawler-Boom-Boom-Summers-Gambit-and-Roguey. We're-missing-Grey." The albino six-teen year old zipped through the group to the front, where Lance and the mini-mutants were congregated. 

"Where's Jean?" Lance asked Rogue before she could assault Pietro for not calling her Marie as she had requested.

The girl rolled her pretty emerald eyes and pointed to the corner where Jean had taken refuge.

"What on Earth is her problem?" Lance asked in irritation.

Rogue beckoned him to kneel down so she could whisper in his ear. "I think she missed her nappie taday. (nap today). She's realleh crankeh (cranky)."

Lance hid a grin and the little girl smiled. "What?!" She asked. Of course, she was looking like the picture of innocence. "Its true!"

"I have an awesome idea kiddos! How do you like to play pretending games?" Lance grinned as all the kids grew excited and cheered. "So does that mean you like my idea?" All 12 of the kidlets squealed in response.

"Lets play!" Tabby cheered and grinned a maniacal grin that was much reminiscent of Pyro around fire or flammable objects.

"Alright then, squirts. Why don't we go play pretend at a really nice store? Its called Baby's R Us."

"I've been there!" Scott said excitedly. "When Mom and Dad were getting ready to have my baby brother Alex we went! They gots everything!" The boy's face lit up in memory of his family.

"Great. Well, all of us are going to pretend we are from different families. And if you guys behave really well, and play the game so well that other people think its real, us older kids will get each of you a special treat. How does that sound?" Lance's heart warmed at the sound of the exuberant cheer he received from the children.

"Good then its all settled. We'll separate you into different cars. The uh...adult who is with you will tell you about the game, Okay?"

"Yep." Scott smiled.

As Lance led the toddlers down to the garage, Pietro, Wanda, and Amanda shared a glance. Lance would make such a great parent someday. It was almost scary how it almost seemed second nature to the nineteen-year-old to be leading a horde of kids between the tender ages of two and four (Wanda was carrying baby Toad and Jubilee had little Amara in her arms). On the way out the door, Wanda grabbed the money from the accessory box which the professor had set up as a fund where the students could buy things that benefited multiple people without spending allowance money. She also grabbed some money from the box for shopping and grocery purposes. A shopping spree for baby stuff would not be cheap.

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So how was it? Love it? Hate it? I regret to inform you that if you wish for the trained assassin penguins to peck me to death your wish can not be fulfilled. The penguins were offended as to how they felt their services were not needed so they have traveled on to a place where angry mobs are abundant. When the union required that I either pay them for their grievances and double the pay I gave them in the time of no service or find a new set of minions. Well guess what I chose? This week only, I am dealing with Irish-Step-Dancing-Mimes! Oh joy! 

Please note that I am taking auditions for new minions... Well y'all review now! And I don't want any bad news because the mimes need to be fired. They are scaring away even my own family. So only good news this time please! Unless you have a pressing matter that can't wait.

Okay sorry that this took so long. I am changing so that it is once every other week. Sorry. But prison-I mean school has me really busy and I just can't do once a week and do well in classes or keep up with the semi-pathetic social life I actually have. Trust me, you want me to be social, my friends are loons and they inspire me to write. I love them all and they are wondering what new entity is trying to take their place so I have to spend time with them. But don't lose hope my friends. I value all my readers as friends too so I won't be forgetting to do my story. 

I must apologize again for the fact that this took so long. Also, I know I mentioned Carmen having a cameo in this chapter but I goofed. Next chapter I promise.

And one final apology to **Girl Number 1**!!! Forgive me please? (Is it just me or do I spend much time apologizing and groveling?)

Okay, I never got a response to last weeks question about Pietro and Sonic. This makes me sad but oh well. This weeks question is...

"_Why does every member of the Brotherhood, and most of the X-Men, never have problems with their powers? The only ones to my knowledge that ever did not have total control at any given point were Jean, Evan, Kitty (ONE TIME ONLY BIG WHOOP!), and of course Scott and Rogue who never really had control to begin with. I would think it would be like riding a bike you know, how once you have it, you have it down for a nice long time, but you have to have some trouble at the start right? Anyone out there have any ideas?"_

Ok. Yep. You read so now it is time to review. Thanx a mega bundle! By the way...Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Chapter 8 completed March 17, 2004


	8. BABIES R US

**__**

Hiya Long time no see. Didya miss me?

"Its been one week since you looked at me, 

threw your arms in the air

and said "You're crazy"

Five days since you tackled me

I've still got the rug burns on both my knees 

It's been three days since the afternoon

You realized its all my fault

not a moment too soon

Yesterday you'd forgiven me

And now I sit back and wait till you say you're sorry"

Howdy. That was a verse from "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies. That is one of my favorite songs and its been stuck in my head as of late so I thought I would be nice and share it with all of you. I figured that it was appropriate even though its been about three weeks since you "saw" me. I don't own the song or the Barenaked Ladies. Heck I don't even own one of their cd's. I only heard "One Week" on the Digimon Movie Soundtrack. I liked it but, I swear it is like song glue or something because it sticks in your brain...

Anywhoozles! Welcome to Chapter Nine World of Back in Diapers! In this chapter, we shall have our friend Carmen doing a brief appearance as a teaser of what is yet to come. Also, all of you who may have been curious about it, we shall explore the experience of bringing 12 pre-k mutants shopping. As in, in a public place. Say prayers for the non-de-aged teens. They'll need all the blessing they can get.

*Checks clip-board that has my new graphic organizer and schedule thingy attached to it* Oh yes. Last time I forgot to give the unit disclaimer for all the shows I referred to. Did any of you seriously think I owned any of them? Well, if any of you thought I did, you are sadly mistaken. *shakes head sadly* Oh and as for any of the opinions of the characters...Don't get upset. Not all of them are my views. I tried to think of shows from about fifteen years ago. The shows they ended up watching are shows that are on today. So if I just lost you lets just pretend I didn't say anything Capiche? (is that how it is spelled?)

so onto **Shout outs!: **

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SperryDee- Glad that you love this so much. Yeah I liked Gargoyles too. I was trying to think of shows that had been on for at least fifteen years. Gargoyles came to my mind. I kind of randomly paired that show with "the Fuzzy One". But it does kind of make sense in hindsight.

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Girl number 1- I am so glad you forgive me. Did you get my review for your story? Thank you so much for all the uber awesome compliments! I'll keep updating if you and everyone else keep reading and reviewing!

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kidmol- Hey thanks for all that nice stuff ya said. *gasps* You want to know my grade?! But...its not safe! They might find me! Who is 'they' you ask? My enemies! They'll come get me and club me to death in my sleep! How do I know who I can trust? Ack. Fine I'll cut the dramatics. I don't really know how much I can give out but I can give you at least a hint. I am in high school *cough. prison-is-closer. Seriously-school-is-not-my-favorite-place-to-be. cough* lets leave it at that. Maybe I'll tell later but I'm a little insecure about things like that. I have no clue who could use that information so sorry I can't give you an exact answer at this time. Don't take it personally. So why did you want to know anyway? Is my work that good? Or that awful? (I don't know whether my ego needs to be deflated or inflated. Hee. Hee.)

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ishandahalf- Hee hee. Glad you liked my show choices. I used to be way into Power Rangers. And I definately remember the Green Ranger. I think. Right now I am on medicine for a dumb old cold and my memory is fuzzy for all things more than ten minutes ago but the green ranger strikes something in my memory...You are right. There are way too many different series of Power Rangers now. It is really hard to keep up with them. I gave up too. I'm glad you like the story and I will aspire to update as fast as one of said bunnies would.

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Howlerdrode- *laughs* Yes. Putting Jean into a corner was great fun! Marie and Remy make quite a team. Both of them are mischievous little snips but aren't they just so cute? Yes, I agree with you. After last chapter, I was almost in tears about the loss of the penguins. I fired the freakish mimes and on a trial basis with a new band of followers whom you shall meet at the end of the chapter when I introduce them properly. About Noitoma, of course I had to mention her! She rocks my socks! Speaking of which...maybe she's seen the elusive pink one in her void of space. Ok no more apologizing unless desperate times call for desperate measures. I am glad you like the story, stay with me now!

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Little Byrdie- *sighs in relief* You have no idea how glad I am that I made a mistake. And that has definately got to be a first. Thank you, last chapter was a blast to write. I am glad to know that I am not the only one out there who thinks pink is overrated. Hm...you got nightmares from Muppet Babies and Sesame Street? Sesame Street and Blue's Clues were the cause of my nightmares. Most of today's little kid shows are just creepy! Yeah, little kids are weird. But aren't they just so cute? *nervous laughter* I would **_NOT_** have been to happy if I was the one cleaning that sand pit either.

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roguishduck- I LOVE YOUR NAME! That being said, I am glad you like my story. Don't worry as long as people review I shall keep writing. (And probably even if nobody does review)

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Maggie- I am glad you think its cool. Ick. Jean? Adorable?! Me thinks not. I have a hard time seeing her as anything but stupid prissy Jean Grey. Thank you for answering the question. I knew why Scott had his issues with his powers, but poor Rogue! I had no idea! She has every excuse in the world for not liking her powers. I knew about Cody and the kiss but I never pondered the psychological effects of that. And the other theory...If that is the case, then...POOR GIRL!

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Bahs-tin Dudette, Again- Glad you like it so much. It was great fun to write. And I am always glad to respond to those who take the time to review for me. Yes. I abhor pink. As for the magical (and missing) pink sock...hey it was a Christmas gift from my parents a year or a few back. *smiles* I am glad I provided you with so many memorable moments. I am also glad that you agree with me that Remy considering feeding Jean to the gators is a good idea. It is too cute! But we must first think of the gator in question. If he were to do that, the gator would get sick and animal rights would come after me and Remy for feeding him spoiled food. And I don't believe in cruelty to animals. I agree! poor li'l Remy! *pouts* But...hey, shouldn't be too hard to find someone who is willing to kiss the boo-boo and make it all better...*many fan-girls raise their hands and squeal in excitement as they volunteer**glares at them* After all, he and Rogue-excuse me- Marie are fast becoming friends. I'm sure she would not want him to hurt...=) Happy Vernal Equinox to you too! And by the way you are very welcome.

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soulstress- *smiles* Making Lance all parental and mature is surprisingly amusing. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I know if circumstances were different, he would make one heck of an X-Man. Well, if Grey and Summers were kicked out. But you are right, it does fit...somehow. I didn't originally intend for him to have that role but it just fell into place naturally. Hm, must be the whole good-boy-forced-to-be-a-bad-boy thing he has going for him. Wish I knew the reason it seems so right...

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Silent Doom- First and foremost congratulations! You are my 50th reviewer! *presents Silent Doom with gold trophy* I am glad you like my story. Thank you for answering the question! You're right some of their mutations aren't too hard. Lance's control may be shaky (pun totally intended), but hey! At least he has it! In Evolution, Remy seems to have his powers under control quite well I would say. I mean he could charge up a whole bus, and a whole chain for the love of pixie-stix! Tee hee! Brain damage. I'd say that explains SOOOOOOO much about Mr. Scott Summers, doesn't it?

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me- You wouldn't be any relation to a guy named Mike would you? He's one of my kinda, sorta, friends at school and he always signs everything 'me'. Anyway, glad you like the story. Sorry but it kind of has to be as long as it is. That's just how it turns out.

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Kazzah Sodapop- Glad you love it so much. *smiles*

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Lady Farevay- *grins sheepishly* Sorry I scared you. Didn't mean to. Little kids can be uber obnoxious sometimes, but they are so cute and sweet. (Okay when their sleeping). Thank you for all the compliments.

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Girl number 1- Hi!. Wait a second....You sneaky little snidget! You reviewed twice! Cool. I gotta figure out how to do that. Anyway, I am STILL glad for the forgiveness. How 'bout we say its both our faults (But mostly mine) and drop the whole issue? Huh? I'm gad you like it.

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whiterose934- Well welcome to my world! =) I am glad you like this. Enjoy.

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sorry, got deprived of a name- Hey thanks. I think its turning out quite well for my first shot. I'm glad you like me adding the accents. It does get so annoying when authors skip accents. I'd actually rather have botched up accents than none. I hafta do them. Its part of who the characters are, right?

Whew! I think that was the most reviews I have had on one update. Keep 'em comin' peeps!

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Disclaimer: "Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye! Let it be known that Heartsyhawk does not own X-men Evolution or pretty much anything that is at all familiar to random people!" *weeps* "Sock?! Why have you forsaken me?!"

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) 

After all the people had been separated into the groups that they would "play" in, the little kids were sent to the car of one of the older kids with them. The cars being used were Wanda's scarlet Lexus, Amanda's pale yellow Jetta, Lance's usual green jeep, Roberto's golden-bronze Explorer, and Jean's SUV and the X-van. Not everybody had to have a car since they were all going in small groups. Most of the people drove their own cars but Sam took Jean's SUV since it was bigger and newer than the old, beat-up, gray, Taurus that his parents had saved up for to help him buy. And Piotr, who did not have a vehicle of his own, took the X-Van.

The group took a while getting to the store due to some kids getting car sick, some being claustrophobic, and others needing a potty break even though it should not have taken more than half an hour total. When they arrived in the parking lot of the shopping center, Lance gave a few last minute directions.

"Ok. All of you know what your stories are right? Piotr, you and Jamie can head over to Toys-R-Us and pick up some toys. Think for their age levels and what we know about them. So in other words, no small parts and unless you two enjoy head aches or are masochists (people who enjoy pain), no noise makers other than non-obnoxious ones. Then you guys can head over to Stop and Shop to get some groceries since we have to consider little kids' needs over teenage needs. And while we're at it, Daniels you can go with them. I don't need you and Pietro messing this up."

For a few moments nobody moved. None of the X-men or former Acolytes had ever heard Lance snap into his leader mode and they were surprised at how well he handled the roll. "Well?" He demanded. "Lets get this done!"

"Yes-sir" Pietro gave his best friend a mock solute and sarcastic smirk. Then everybody hurried to meet their orders.

They staggered their entrances so they would not be pinned as a group. As Lance walked through the doorway that led into the store he had to smile. All the soft colors and cute happiness would have been Kitty's dream to shop. Lance had to chuckle at the thought of how happy Kitty would be at her normal age if Lance entered this store when she did not have to threaten his life to do so. Kitty was a dreamer. You know, one of those girls who already has her whole family planned out and loves to shop for baby stuff with her boyfriend to pick out the stuff long before she and said boyfriend are even an official couple.

He shook his head and started towards the service desk. He was after all, clueless as to what little kids needed. So why not swallow his manly pride and ask for help? He chuckled. Kitty would be proud of him today. 

He firmly took Rogue's hand in one of his, and with his other hand, he kept a grip on Kitty, who even as a small child was intrigued by baby stuff and sales racks. Remy and Scott followed obediently, even though Scott tripped a few times which Remy claimed had nothing to do with the fact that he had pushed the other four year old several times. 

Lance grew agitated and released Rogue's hand and seized the scowling four-year-old Cajun's hand. He felt it best to do so not only so he could stop feeling sympathy for the boy he hated more than anything else in the universe, but he remembered that Gambit had been part of a family of thieves. Lance was not really in the mood to go to jail because a four year old shoplifted from a baby store. (A/N: Not funny don't laugh! My sister once stole a bag of socks from Wal-Mart when she was three. It was embarrassing cuz we had to go back in and give 'em back. Although I am the only one who remembers this so it may have been a dream but I doubt it.)

Lance approached the service desk and cleared his throat to get the attention of the clerk who sat drinking coffee from a travel mug and reading the newspaper.

"Can I help you?" The young woman who could not have been too much older than Lance sneered as if amazed someone would dare interrupt her.

"Look...Becky" Lance said hurriedly as he glanced at the name badge on her uniform. "I need to speak with the manger or someone who can help me out."

"The shift supervisor is on her break. You can talk to her in exactly twenty-six minutes." Becky said in a bored tone of voice. 

"Is there a manager?" Lance asked. "Or any worker who can help me?"

"As the shift supervisor, I can assure you that you will be helped in good time unless someone else becomes available."

Lance started to get a headache. "Look I am kind of in a hurry miss. Can you please just help me?" He sounded desperate.

"Twenty-four minutes" Was the only response she gave.

"Hey! Becky, are you harrassin' another customer, esa (lady in Spanish I think. Mais, je parle espagnol comme une vache francais. {But I speak Spanish like a French cow /in French by the way/})?" A flirty and friendly voice with a light Spanish accent sounded. Lance turned and saw a girl of about seventeen approaching the counter. 

She was an average height and weight with a pretty tan and long black hair that seemed to have a spotlight on it. Her eyes were an interesting shade of greenish silver but that wasn't anything terribly special. A red streak ran down her head from her scalp to the tip of her hair and was obviously artificial. But she was smiling and seemed to absorb attention. She walked with confidence and pride in her own looks. When she was close enough to reach out and touch Lance, he noticed the curious heart-shape of her pupils.

"Hi. I'm Carmen. I'm the assistant manger today. How can I help you, since Rebecca is refusing to do her job at the moment?" The girl said this in a flirty tone and aimed the second part, accompanied by a glare, at the other employee who just shrugged and said "nineteen minutes, thirty-seven seconds."

"Well, I have to buy a whole lot of baby stuff." He smiled and looked at Scott and Remy who were scowling about being called babies. 

Carmen looked over the counter and her face lost the charming smile for a few seconds. "Are they...you know, yours?" She asked sounding a little disappointed at that prospect. After all she had just been mildly flirting with a guy and now she thought that he really had kids. Which meant that he was off the dating market. (Which he is anyway but she does not know that.)

Lance snorted in laughter. "Yeah, their mine." She looked mildly embarrassed and her face fell. "My brothers and sisters." he continued to explain using the alibi that had been developed for his group. Carmen looked kind of confused. After all, what teen-aged brother has to buy baby stuff for his little siblings with no parental unit tagging along choosing the necessary stuff so the teen doesn't go spend the money on useless junk?

At this point, the kidlets began to get in on the act. "Our mom and Daddy died a li'l while 'go (ago)" Scott said solemnly. 

"Dere was a real bad car ask-a-dent. (accident). An' we went t' live wit' Gramma an' Granpa fo' a li'l bit. They were nice an' buyed us lotsa toys but dey said dat dey were too old fo' us." Remy nodded and widened his eyes in false remorse for his "deceased" parents.

"So they called Wance from at curl-edge (college). An' we gotsa live with him now. An' he don' have none o' the stuffs we need so we comed here." Rogue pouted adorably. "Ah miss Mama an' Daddeh (Daddy). But they wented ta heaben (heaven)." The little girl rubbed the crocodile tears from her eyes and Carmen's heart broke.

Lance inwardly smiled because his plan was working. Then he felt bad because he was upsetting this girl who he didn't know.

"That is so sad!" Carmen frowned. "What can I help you with?"

"Well." Lance started. "I have absolutely no clue what the little bits (Heartsyhawk talk for little kids) need. I'm still kind of new at the whole switching roles thing. Going from big-brother who was away at college since Kitty was born, to becoming like a fatherly figure is...not easy."

Carmen nodded sympathetically. "You poor dears. All of you. Okay, I can help you. Lets see, you need clothes, food, some furniture stuff, toys are highly recommended, and...hold on, I'll write you a list." She grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the counter and wrote a detailed list of what they needed. 

She looked up. "Um, how old are they?" She asked. "There are some things you may not need due to age like bottles and diapers."

Lance nodded. "The twins, Remy and Scott are four." He pointed to the two boys who looked ready to spit poison at being called twins but they kept quiet in order to get the treat. "Ro-I mean Marie-is three years old." He stammered at the look the little three-year-old threw his way. The last of the group giggled gleefully and smiled at the smiling older girl. "And my pretty little Kitty here, is two." Lance looked back to the sales-girl.

"Hm, well, I guess you can get away with out baby bottles and formula. Is she potty-trained?" Carmen gestured to Kitty who was playing with Lance's watch, which she had somehow removed from his wrist.

"Um..." He looked at the two-year-old who grinned and nodded joyfully. "I guess so."

"Okay." Carmen gave him a weird look and wrote something on the list. "You should get a set of training underwear just in case." She wrote down a few things and turned back to Lance. "Do you know their sizes? You'll need a lot of baby clothes. Little ones like these only stay clean for about a couple hours."

Seeing the clueless and blank look on Lance's face, she pulled a tape measure from the drawer under the counter. She took a few measurements and looked at a size chart. "The twins should fit a toddler boy's size six and li'l Maria should be toddler girl's size two. (A/N: I have no clue about baby clothes sizes so just smile and take me with a grain of salt),"

"Scuze me ma'am but her name not Maria." Remy piped up. "'S Marie." Carmen grinned in apology at the girl who scowled menacingly at the older girl.

"Mah name ain't Maria. Or Rogue. Don't ya call meh that neveh again. If ya gotsa talk ta meh Ah am Marie."

Carmen slowly backed off. "Sounds like someone missed her nap today." She gulped and Lance smiled.

"Nah. She's always in a sour mood. She's a stubborn little brat sometimes. But that's part of who she is. I kind of think its cute. She gets sweeter with people she knows." Rogue stuck her tongue out at this point. Prize or no prize, he had no right to be mean.

"Wow, such a devoted big brother. I think that's about the best quality in a guy." She said in a rich flirty voice that was heavily accented with Spanish. "Being good with kids, of course, is what I mean."

"I never even really knew the first thing about kids until a while ago." He murmured under his breath.

"Well, here's your list, senor(mister...I think...). If you need any help...you know where to find me, hon." She handed over the paper and winked flirtatiously. Lance's eyes suddenly felt heavy and his mind felt fuzzy and run together and all thoughts left his mind. She leaned up and looked at him expectantly.

As if in a dream like state, he leaned down as if to kiss her. Rogue, Remy, and Scott all wrinkled their noses and covered their eyes whilst chorusing "EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW"

Kitty on the other hand pouted and tugged gently on Lance's shirt sleeve. But it was as if he was in another world. "Wance! You're skishing (squishing) me!" The little girl whimpered. She started crying and almost immediately, Lance snapped out of the state of mind he had just been in and he looked concerned.

"Kitty? Are you alright, angel?" He stared intently at her, his large chocolate eyes full of concern.

"Of course. You have a girlfriend don't you?" Carmen asked somewhat embarrassed. He nodded and she continued. "Forgive me for being forward but you love her don't you?" He nodded again and his cheeks flushed as he realized what had almost happened. "Figures," Carmen muttered under her breath. "My powers never fail unless they're interrupting true love." She said this last part so low Lance did not hear it. 

"You really love her?" Carmen pressed, disappointed. 

"With all my heart," Lance answered honestly. He frowned. His temper was being tested by an overly flirty Spanish girl and he had not had an easy day. "Um, why do you care?"

"No reason," She lied through her dazzling smile. "Well, you have the list. If you need any help you know where I am. And bye the way, the li'l chica (girl?) you're holding is most likely an infants size 18-20 months. She's a little one that one is." With that she turned to help another customer.

After Lance walked off with his troupe of toddlers accompanying him, Carmen sighed. "Figures."

"What Figures?" smirked Becky who seemed to be at the end of her break.

"I was just a bit forward with that guy over there. Turns out he has a girlfriend."

"It's like I always say, all the best guys are gay, imbeciles, or taken already."  
The other girl sighed. "Too bad. He was good looking. Sweet too."

"Becky, for my best friend, you really don't do well cheering me up." Carmen smiled ruefully.

Lance was walking over to where Carmen had said he could find some of the stuff. He found the essentials quickly enough, and then steered the carriage into the rather large area for baby clothes. He put Kitty and Rogue in the front basket since they were both small enough to fit. He made Remy hold one side and Scott hold the other so they could not wander off. He breathed deeply and stared at the clothes. 

This was not his favorite thing to be doing on a Saturday morning. Shopping with Kitty was always one of those things he did to please her and grumbled about under his breath. He was not the most fashion conscious guy on the planet. No. That would be his best friend. Pietro knew style and stuff. Lance barely could color coordinate, let alone buy the entire wardrobe for a horde of toddlers.

For the boys, he found jeans and tee-shirts and shorts that he figured weren't too dreadful. He stuck with what he knew which was basically Pokémon, Spongebob, and a few varius other things that caught his attention. He stuck to darker colors since he figured that little kids had the hygiene of Toad and stains would not be fun to deal with. He passed over all things white. He vaguely remembered somebody telling him that the color white should be illegal in children's clothing cuz they seemed to be born with the mission of the destruction of white.

Come to think of it, he remembered it was Rogue. She would occasionally tell stories of how her friends back in Mississippi would tell her about their babysitting experiences before her powers came in. That was while she was with the brotherhood but even then she had been somewhat distant to the B-hood boys. Lance smirked at the irony. Rogue's minimal sitting experience would have been useful.

Since Lance noted that Rogue and Remy were southern, and New York was much colder than the deep South even in the Summer, he grabbed a raincoat, and a few sweaters for Remy while they were in the boy's department.

Lance turned a corner and blinked in surprise. It was as if everything had gone powder pink and lavender and white and yellow. Lance had never been in the girls department before. When Kitty had dragged him here that one other time, he had left after he had to see all the boy clothes.

Kitty squealed and clapped her hands. Lance smiled as the two boys gagged and whimpered. "Its too pink." Scott pouted. "I'm scared!"

Lance agreed with them but Kitty needed some clothes. He gingerly chose about a dozen cutsie girlie tee-shirts in pink, lavender, baby blue, and yellow. She seemed to adore each and every one of them and cooed happily. He grimaced and put them into the carriage. The next thing he did was select several matching pants, overalls, and shorts that he figured she would like. 

Sighing, he brought the little kids to where he could find stuff in Rogue's size. She took one look at all the pink and girlie stuff and emitted a muffled squeak and hid behind Remy who looked revolted himself.

Lance groaned and randomly picked up a shirt. He held it up so the little girl could give her opinion. Rogue peeked out from behind her friend and raised her eyebrows.

"Come on, Marie, I know you don't like it but would you please wear it? It won't kill you." Lance pleaded with her.

"That what yah thank (think)!" She frowned. "Ah won' wear that if iss (it's) the last cwoves (clothes) in the whole whirl (world)!"

"Please, Marie? For me?" He begged.

"No!" She scowled. "Ah don' wanna! Yah can' make meh!"

"Will you do it for your friend Remy? Please?" Lance whined.

"Y' Crazy?" Remy panicked. "Don' y' bring Remy int' dis! Remy be Spits-a-lend. (Switzerland) Remy be nat'ral (natural {neutral}). Don' wan' her mad a' Remy!" The four-year-old snapped defiantly.

"Ah don' wanna!" Rogue's voice rose dangerously. "Ah ain't gonna wear nothin' here. Iss (It's) all pink!"

Lance frowned. "Look, squirt. I know you don't like this but that is too bad. You have to wear something!"

"NO AH DON'!" Rogue screamed. "Ah don' wanna!" With that, the three-year-old started screaming, Lance's ears turned red as a crowd gathered and whispered about how the "poor little sweetheart" must not be being treated properly. And several people tutted about how teens made such awful parents and shouldn't be having kids so young.

"Come on Marie, please? You're making a scene." She kept wailing so Lance quickly brought her over to the boy clothes and held up a forest green tee-shirt for her to inspect.

Amazingly, her tantrum calmed down almost instantly. She smiled and reached for the shirt that she wanted. Lance sighed and gave in and let her select her own clothes from the area she wanted. He felt extremely uncomfortable because people gave him odd looks as he carted a three-year-old girl through the boy's department and let her choose clothes.

When all of the kids had clothes and stuff, Lance headed for checkout. On the way, they passed a small toy section. Kitty grinned and clapped and reached out for the toys, so Lance decided he could get each of them something small. He would be spending big bucks anyway and he might as well get something to make his job easier.

Scott seemed to like a small robot dog that was remote-controlled. So Lance put it in the cart. Remy proudly displayed several packs of cards and Lance had to laugh. Where the kid had found playing cards in a baby store was a mystery to him.

Rogue giggled at a strange little stuffed animal and held it tight. After reading the tag, Lance determined that it was a kangaroo-rat. He shook his head and smiled at how affectionate the petite Southern belle had become when it came to him buying her a toy. She was being clingy and smiling and giving him one of those puppy-dog pouts that he couldn't resist from anyone.

Kitty seemed to just want to be cuddled. She wasn't too interested in most of the toys until she saw a small purple dragon stuffed animal discarded on the floor. "Like that!" She squealed. She smiled and reached for it. But, being in the top part of the carriage, she couldn't reach it. She squealed and whimpered and tried hard to reach it. "Want it!" She pouted. "Wance (Lance), get it!" She demanded and pointed to the object of her affection.

Lance sighed and reached for it. "You sure you want this, pretty Kitty? Its kind of creepy looking."

"Want it!" Kitty cheered. He handed it to her and she grinned, clearly pleased.

"Sank (thank) you Wance!" She took the toy and hugged it tight.

Lance shook his head and headed for the checkout counter. On the way, he passed Wanda and Pietro who seemed to be having a few problems with an obnoxious employee who had obviously mistaken the situation and thought the two seventeen-year-olds were together in the non-sibling way.

This actually played right into the sob-story that they had worked out. But still, both of them found it understandably embarrassing to be given a lecture on teenaged-pregnancies when the person is mistaking your sibling for the parent of a child which is not even yours.

Wanda looked as if she wanted to sink into the floor, so she had to make sure to keep her emotions in check, as her powers would make anything highly improbable, possible. Whereas, Pietro looked highly offended. Wanda was his freaking twin sister for the love of pixie-stix! Sure maybe they were as different as black and white, and they were anything but identical, but still, couldn't people at least tell they were related? Their eyes were really similar as well as their face shapes. And all facts of their relation aside, how could anybody think that she was even remotely his type?! Normally he went for cheerleadery types, or flirty girls, or girls like that. The only exception to his sub-conscious "no Goths" rule had been when he first arrived with the Brotherhood and had a teeny, tiny crush on Rogue but that only lasted about one week because he had begun to think of her like a sister. 

Anyway, the employee kept babbling about how teenagers shouldn't be having kids and how annoying it was to always be seeing sixteen and seventeen year old couples with babies. Pietro cut in.

"Yes I know, that is so obnoxious, isn't it?!" He said enthusiastically. "But you know what is worse? When people keep butting into affairs of other people and not even giving young married couples the chance to explain that they are married before lecturing them about kids having kids. Wouldn't you agree...Scarlet, Darling? he looked pointedly at his sister telling her that her cue was now. She raised her eyebrow at what he called her and then she smiled, even though her brother noticed that her fists clenched even though she was holding the sleeping infant version of Toad. 

"Yes, that is dreadful. But one can never be too careful. Father always said that kids should not be parents, remember, Peter?" She smirked to herself at the start her brother gave at her name for him. But through his shock he managed to sigh and nod.

The store employee looked rather embarrassed and meekly asked how she could help them.

"Well, to cut a very long story short..." Pietro drawled. "Last night there was a fire at our mansion. Most of the babies' things were ruined either by burning or by the smoke." He said looking frustrated. He shifted Bobby in his arms uncomfortably. 'Geez' he thought, 'his kid sure weighs a lot. And holding one of the mini-x-geeks isn't too fun.' He sighed deeply. "And seeing as most of it was family heirlooms or presents, we have no clue where to look for new stuff."

The store employee nodded and briefly told them where to get the stuff they needed. She timidly apologized. "I am dreadfully sorry that I broke into an unfair conclusion. Please accept my apologies." She smiled when the two of them nodded simultaneously. "Oh and good luck Mr. and Mrs. ...er...-"

"Its Maximoff, doll." Pietro smirked. "And thank you."

With that the "couple" walked away. Both of them were smiling. When out of earshot Wanda frowned menacingly. 

"Darling?!" She asked incredulously. "Darling?!"

"Peter?!" He retorted.

"Scarlet?!" Her eyebrow raised. "Where on this planet did that come from?!"

"Okay, so-I-came-up-with-the-first-thing-that-came-to-mind! So-sue-me."

"What may I ask is wrong with the name I was given at birth?" She asked incredulously.

"The-same-thing-that's-wrong-with-my-given-name. They-stand-out-like-sore-thumbs. And-with-all-the-anti-mutant-stuff-nowadays-we-don't-need-any-extra-attention. And-then-theres-the-fact-that-our-father-isn't-exactly-the-most-popular-guy-on-earth-you-know! And-your-name-isn't-exactly-common, Wanda." He explained to his irritated twin.

"Oh, and I am sure Pietro is one of the most common names in Bayville." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Nope. I-am-pretty-unique." Pietro smirked proudly. Then it hit him. "Okay-I-got-it. Sheesh-point-taken." He pouted and she smiled and shook her head. 

The twins grinned as they passed Sam and Jubilee. The two were smiling and shopping on their own. Sam had a ton of siblings and he'd been taking care of them since as long as he could remember. Plus Jubilee had a lot of babysitting experience so she knew sort of what little kids needed.

Jubilee had slipped her hand into Sam's and was joyfully shopping. One of the less known facts about Jubilee was that she was as much a valley-girl ditzy mall rat as Kitty was. (A/N: But she's from California I think so would that make her a Cali-girl? Sorry don't ask. I was watching TV and there was a commercial for the new Cali-girl Barbies) Shopping was the center of her world. Well, that and fashion and her yellow coat. 

"They make a cute couple." Pietro commented to his sister nonchalantly.

"Yeah," She nodded blankly.

Pietro paused and wrinkled his nose. "Um, are-we-having-a-somewhat-civilized-conversation-about-the-love-lives-of-two-of-the-X-geeks?" He asked confused.

""That's kind of a scary thought..." Wanda blinked. The twins shrugged and walked away. They did not want to be scared by their actions anymore.

Back with Sam and Jubilee, Tabby and Amara both tried to squirm out of the carriages they were in. Eventually they gave up, but Tabitha looked a little restless. She kept grabbing random items from shelves and hurling them at the floor, her guardians, Amara, or the inside of the carriage. Jubilee and Sam kept taking turns removing the items and gently scolding her.

"Ouch. Tabby, yah can't keep doin' that." Sam mumbled as he rubbed the side of his head that a flying baby bottle had just hit. "Yah gonna hurt someone an' it'll most lahkeleh (likely) be meh." _Clunk_. A package of diapers hit his head. 'Well at least she picked somethin' softeh (softer).' He thought to himself. Apparently he had thought too soon because the next moment a bottle of baby shampoo hit him in the head.

He rubbed his head while pondering the size of the bruise he'd have by the time this shopping spree was over. Then he wondered how he could pummel into solid walls and not get the kind of headache he currently had, but a little two year old made him want to repeatedly slam his head into something heavy.

Amara eventually grew bored and fell asleep in the baby seat of the cart that Jubilee had her strapped into. Jubilee had a blast picking the clothes for her friend and Tabitha. Sam enjoyed having time with Jubilee but he found Tabitha unceasingly annoying. Even as a toddler the girl was her usual obnoxious self.

Eventually they came across Rahne and Roberto who were busy questioning an elderly Spanish man who seemed terribly confused and terribly unable to speak English which Rahne and Roberto had issues picking up on.

"¡Yo no trabajo aquí! ¡Acabo de comprar que un cumpleaños presentan para mi nieta! (I do not work here! I am just buying a birthday present for my granddaughter!)" Rahne gave him a confused look but Roberto understood. Spanish and Portuguese were slightly similar after all. (This is just a rumor I heard so don't be mad if it ain't true)

"Oh we're sorry sir. We thought you were an employee. Good luck finding something for your granddaughter."

With that he steered Rahne away. She proceeded to drag him up to the front desk.

"How may I help you," Becky smiled generously.

"Um we have a wee problem." Rahne explained quickly. "We have a school project te be doin' an' we dunno what the wee laddies be a-needin' (Don't kill if its awful. That is my pathetic attempt at a Scottish accent. What I meant for her to say is We have a school project to do and we don't know what the little boys need.)" She gestured to Kurt who was playing with a random item from the cart and Freddy who was sucking on his thumb.

"Becky the boss needs to see you." Carmen said as she exited the back room. "Said it was urgent." She turned to Rahne and Roberto. "I'm so sorry to interrupt but I can help you. What is it you need?"

Rahne sighed and Roberto stepped forward. "Um, we have this project at our school. I guess its like one of those baby-think-it-over things. Anyway we have to take care of these two kids and we don't quite know what we need. We know we shouldn't have waited until we ended up with the kids to do this shopping, but...." he trailed off and shrugged. It wasn't technically a lie. He didn't say anything totally untruthful. Roberto was wondering why the group of teens were prepared from almost every emergency that could be thought up by a combined effort of Scott, Logan, and Xavier, but nobody had ever planned for toddlers at the institute.

Carmen smiled and took out a pen. "Well, you're gonna want clothes and toys and training underwear and..." She trailed off as she wrote a brief list. "Here you go." She handed the list to Roberto and winked flirtatiously. Rahne watched, fascinated, as he seemed to melt into mush. He gave the girl behind the counter a pathetic, simpering grin and she giggled in response. Rahne shook her head and sighed and grabbed the list-and Roberto's hand- and walked off.

"C'mon Roberto." She rolled her eyes. "We are nay (not) here te be a-flirtin' with the staff. We hafta be a-takin' care o' de wee babes. An' the sooner we can leave, the happier Aye'll be."

"But...Rahne..." he whined as she dragged him from the counter. "She was pretty! You're no fun." He pouted and the young Scottish girl rolled her eyes. They worked their way into the store and picked up the stuff they needed. Roberto scowled the whole time.

They found the basics quickly enough. When they got to the clothes, they faced a slight problem. They had no clue how to find out sizes for Kurt and Freddy.

"Jus' great." Rahne sighed. "Aye think we be a-needin' some help. An' NO! We ain't a-goin' back te that check out counter, Roberto DeCosta!" He pouted after grinning sheepishly. "Oh, Maximoff!" She grinned and showed an almost canine grin as she saw the older boy whom she normally detested.

Pietro and Wanda rushed over. "Shhh. We're trying not to draw attention to ourselves!" 

Rahne grinned apologetically. "Whatever. Look, ye know clothes an' sizes right?" He nodded nervously. "Well what size do ye think Freddy is a-needin'?"

Pietro shrugged. "I-don't-know! All-I-know-is-when-he-was-17-his-clothes-were-like-circus-tents-to-me. So-uh-try-um-this-size-right-here." Pietro quickly darted through the clothes section and found a large-ish size that looked promising. "And-for-Nightcrawler, -I'd-go-with-the-same-size-as-Drake-over-here."

Rahne raised her eyebrow and waited for what size that was. Pietro didn't supply it.

"Argh! Pietro, you are an imbecile." Wanda snapped. "Toddler size four, Sinclaire."

"Thank ye Wanda." Rahne smiled. She hurried off to the area where she could find the clothes. She frowned in dismay as she realized that she hated fashion. She went for comfort over style most times. That was the wolf in her. She didn't bother with accessories or stupid clothes that weren't fun or easy to wear.

"Oh joy." Roberto sighed. He was slightly more fashion conscious than she was. But even, still, no guy wants to be a seventeen year old shopping for a pair of two-year-olds.

They found a few things for Kurt and turned to Freddy's size. Both were dismayed by the lack of variety in the large sizes. Most of the colors were awful and terribly ickish even to a style-challenged metamorph and Brazilian solar powered mutant.

"What poor blind guy designed these?" Roberto raised an eyebrow.

Rahne shrugged. "Aye dunno. But pity on his poor soul. I guess we're pretty much limited te orange an' purple an' lime green." She sighed. "At least they go t'gether somewhat-Aye be a-thinkin'." She grinned nervously.

"Poor kid." Roberto gulped. "I think this is why a fourteen-year-old wolf-girl and a seventeen-year-old soccer player should not have kids. We don't know anything about them or their stupid clothes." The boy nodded sagely.

Rahne nodded in agreement and the two giggled and looked for the most comfortable looking clothes for play. After that the two skeptical teens joked as they headed for the checkout. 

While all this was occurring, Amanda looked around nervously. Any moment somebody she knew could enter the store. They would report to her parents and she was not supposed to be anywhere near any of Xavier's students.

She knew she was wasting time but she was nervous and didn't want to approach an employee. So she skirted along throughout the store until she found Lance. He had found a toy machine and was allowing each of "his" brood a couple of quarters even though they were none too skilled at the machine except Remy. He won two stuffed animals with his four quarters and was working on something for Rogue who cheered him on happily.

"Lance," Amanda called. "I kind of need some help." The older boy nodded and came over to where Amanda and Ray stood, each clutching the hand of one of the grinning red-head mini-mutants.

"What's up Amanda?" Lance looked at her quizzically.

"I can't talk to any of the workers here!" She hissed in low tones. "My parents...I can't even talk to anybody at Xavier's! Just tell me what I need. Jean and Pyro are having issues behaving. Well actually it's just Pyro, but Jean won't get along with him."

Pyro grinned, exposing gaps where teeth hadn't grown in yet. " 'M not Pywo!" He shook his head. ""M name Johnny!" He giggled and grinned again.

"He is so immature." Jean sniffed. 

"He so 'mmature" Pyro laughed.

"Quit it!" Jean huffed indignantly.

"Kit it!" Pyro mocked and clapped his hands together to display his amusement.

"Stop it!" Jean glared at the younger toddler.

"Spot it!" Pyro smiled.

"Miss 'Manda! Miss 'Manda! He's mimicking me!" Jean scowled and whined in a bossy voice. "Make the brat stop!"

"Mini-micking!" Pyro giggled.

Amanda groaned. "See?"

Lance nodded sympathetically. "C'mere you...pint-sized terrorist." He smiled at the red-headed boy who giggled and toddled over. It was immeasurably hard to imagine that only a few months previous, this boy had been one of Magneto's cronies bent on world domination for Magneto. It was even harder to believe that this adorable and innocent looking kid was an eerie insane pyromaniac just hours earlier.

"Oh sure leave me with Miss Brat over here." Amanda smiled to let Lance know she was just joking. "But thanks a super bunch anyway. Do you know what I have to get?"

Lance nodded and handed over the list the flirty employee had written for him. "For sizes, I'd pick up a few things in toddler girl's size 3 for Jean since she's only a little bit bigger than Rogue-I mean Marie's size now that she is a three-year-old. And for Pyro...I think you could try a toddler boy's size four. He's about Bobby and Kurt's size and I heard Wanda tell Rahne that Bobby is a size four."

"Thanks. I'll hurry right back." Amanda took off towards the aisles, leaving Ray and having Jean struggling to try and catch her.

Ray sat down on the bench Lance had collapsed onto and sighed. "Something tells me that this is going to be the longest period of time in the world until Lance can fix this mess. Its only been a few hours and I want out."

"You said it, Crisp." Lance grumbled putting his head in his hands. "I have no clue how people do this for a whole 18 years. I am pretty sure a week of this would kill me. Not to mention the effects of a month." Lance shuddered.

"You know Lance, I hear it's different if its actually your kid." Wanda smiled. She and her brother had finished checking out and wheeled the carriages over. "People say you love the little beasts no-matter what."

Lance gave her a nasty glare.

"Aw-does-that-mean-that-there'll be-a-while-wait-before-any-Alvers-Pryde-kids-after-the-two-of-you-get-hitched?" Pietro smirked.

"Pietro, I swear to you, if I wasn't emotionally drained from shopping for a flock of toddlers, I would kill you." Lance glared.

"I-guess-I'll-take-that-as-a-yes-then. Hope-you-have-a-brother-or-cousin-or-something-Lance-cuz-with-an-atitude-like-the-one-you-have-at-the-moment,-you-are-the-end-of-the-Alver-family-tree."

Lance playfully swung a punch at Pietro, knowing full well that the speedster would easily dodge it. "Enough wise cracks already Maximoff. You can't honestly tell me that if you ever have kids you look forward to this stage after this experience."

Pietro shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't plan on having kids yet, Alvers. Unlike you, not all of us plan to spend forever with our first high school sweethearts, Lance." Pietro shook his head as if ashamed of his friend.

Wanda wrinkled her nose and shook her head as well. Romance wasn't her thing but she did find it sweet about what Lance and Kitty had. Sickening, but sweet none the less. And after all, Kitty was sort of becoming one of Wanda's friends (Not that she'd ever admit it). The two had been unified by their friendships with Rogue.

Lance and Ray stared at the Maximoffs who both were slowly shaking their heads.

"What?" They said simultaneously. They raised their eyebrows at the same time.

"Urgh! Don't do that!" Lance grinned. "It's creepy."

"Yeah, I'd rate it a 9.7 on the freak-o-meter." Ray added conversationally.

"Do What?!" Pietro and Wanda asked simultaneously, both visibly confused.

"That...that....that freaky twin thing!" Lance finished lamely. "It totally wierds me out."

"What freaky twin thing?" the twins asked after exchanging a glance. They had no clue what the two guys were going on about.

"The thing where you either finish each other's sentences or speak at the same time." Lance explained.

"Its just plain wrong. And it is terrifying how much alike you two are. Like when you were both shaking your heads. Except for the fact for the obvious differences, like gender, hair and skin tone, the two of you were 100% identical.

Wanda looked at her brother and frowned. She blinked in thought. Her brother did the same moments after she had. Both shrugged.

Suddenly, something in the store caught Remy's interest and he took off to go to it. A large percent of the present teen mutants panicked. Lance groaned and took off after the kid. Lance returned a few minutes later holding a struggling four-year-old and a bag, and wearing a smile.

"Okay, that's it. He's finally cracked. And it only took about three hours with the kids." Ray exclaimed and Wanda nodded in agreement.

"Very funny, guys." Lance rolled his eyes. "It just so happens that I have discovered the solution to one of our problems." He said dramatically. Proudly he smirked.

"What,-did-you-find-some-poor-sucker-to-adopt-twelve-mini-mutants?" Pietro asked hopefully.

"No, besides, I would not put these little pests into any poor soul's home. For one thing, we would be in serious trouble when either Forge fixes this mess, or the professor and other adults come back, whatever happens first. Not to mention what Rogue and them will do to us if they found out we adopted them out."

Pietro considered the pros and cons and decided his friend was right. "Okay, so-you-didn't-adopt-out-the-pipsqueaks. So-why-are-you-so-smug? And-what-is-in-the-stupid-bag?"

Lance smirked and opened the bag. With the hand that was not holding the squirmy four-year-old, he removed a red and black striped harness device. He struggled to clip it onto the young toddler who was obviously less than thrilled. When he finished, he set the boy on the ground. Remy immediately tried to bolt in the direction of whatever it was that he wanted to see. But he got about three feet before he was stopped. He struggled to pull and the end of the device that restricted him was firmly in Lance's grasp. 

Remy turned and saw this and his face fell. "What de 'eck (heck) is dis?"

Lance turned to the other teens. "Restraining leashes. I got ten of them. They are designed to prevent little...angels such as Remy here, from running off or getting kidnapped or lost or something ridiculous like that. This little turkey made the mistake of running straight passed them. After I caught him in the aisle he took off to, I grabbed some. Ten because Amara and Toad are too little to walk on their own yet."

Pietro stared at his former leader in shock. "So-in-short-you-got-the-little-pains-baby-leashes?" Lance nodded. "What-makes-you-so-sure-that-we-_don't_-want-them-to-get-kidnapped-or-lost?"

"Pietro," Lance said in his 'you're-smashing-my-last-nerve-into-the-floor-and-disobeying-a-direct-order-from-your-best-friend/leader-and-this-is-your-last-warning-voice'.

"Fine. Don't-get-so-upset. Can-we-at-least-lose-Grey-and-Summers? Please? Pretty-please? Pretty-please-with-sugar-and-soda-and-pixie-stix-on-top?" Lance laughed at the hopeful look on Pietro's face.

"As painfully tempting as that is, My conscience would never let me forgive myself if I lost a three and four-year-old. Even if they are the two people I hate more than anyone else with the possible exception of Apocalypse and your Dad and Mystique."

Pietro frowned and as Lance handed each of them a couple harness/baby leash combos, he seemed to consider not fully clipping the contraption on Jean and Scott's.

"I-still-think-we-should-lose-them. Or maybe I they'd get lost."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "I wish you'd get lost!" She snarled at him. "How do you sleep at night with the knowledge that you want two toddlers to get lost!?! Do you know that it isn't exactly fun or a good thing to think about? It actually happens Pietro. It's a scary thing. Imagine how you'd feel if someday when you, Heaven forbid, are a parent, and your son or daughter got lost in New York City. I feel you owe Jean and Scott an apology. RIGHT NOW!"

Pietro turned an odd shade of pink and murmured an apology to the two kidlets who didn't even seem to know that they were being talked about. It was clear that his twin terrified him sometimes. Yet he also seemed surprised that she had jumped to the defense of the two brattiest snips he had ever met. He had no clue that his sister cared about kids so much. He knew it was about the kids because she hated Summers and Grey as much as any of them.

"Why Remy gotta wear a dumb ol' baby leash fo' (for)?" The child pondered aloud. "Remy not a enfant (baby)! Remy be fo' (four) years ol'! Dat ain' a bébé! Remy don' need a leash."

Lance shook his head. "Sorry pal. But you really have no choice in the matter. There are way too many of you."

The child gave his most angelic grin. "Please let Remy go..." He begged. "Remy won' run away never 'gain."

Lance shook his head and sat back down on the bench.

"Fine! Be dat way! Remy hates y'. Y' not Remy's friend no mo' (more)."

Lance looked bewildered. He had never really been the Cajun's friend. But why did that cut something deep inside him like a twisted dagger? He shrugged and watched as the little four-year-old struggled to wriggle out of the offending device.

"Save your energy squirt, it's kid proof." Ray smirked and received an angry glare in return.

Rogue, on the other hand, was not accepting the restraint so passively. Wanda did not look terribly pleased about the girl's yelling and threats. Eventually, she pinned the girl with her powers and forced her to stay still using a well placed hex-bolt. The child was pretty much howling and people were beginning to tut and stare.

"Shhh, kiddo come on. Don't do this to me." Wanda begged. "I know you don't like it, heck, I don't like putting you in it. Please calm down."

Pietro seemed to be getting a headache. "I-can't-take-it-any-more! I-have-to-go-outside-and-get-a-bit-less-noise-pollution! That-girl-sure-can-reach-decibels!" With that, he sped outside clutching his ears.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?" A voice sounded behind Wanda. The seventeen-year-old Maximoff was startled. And a startled Maximoff is not EVER a happy Maximoff.

"What?!" Wanda asked ruder than she intended to. She clipped the last buckle on the leash/harness Rogue was wearing. The girl was still screaming and throwing a tantrum.

"I'm Carmen." The girl smirked. 

Wanda snorted. "Funny, I don't remember asking you for your name."

Carmen ignored the remark and smiled. Wanda instantly didn't trust her. Her grin was way too big, her uniform was slightly tighter than need be, and worst of all, this strange Spanish accented girl did not seem phased by Wanda's obvious desire for her to go away.

"Well, your little chica (girl?) is screaming quite loudly and I was wondering if I could do anything to help you out."

Wanda's jaw dropped. "My little what?!" She snarled.

"Your little girl. Sorry, Sometimes I assume everybody speaks Spanish." She flashed a dazzling smile that didn't impress Wanda in the least. Wanda did not even bother to tell her that she understood what had been said.

"She is NOT my little girl! She is-"

"Her niece." Lance cut in. He stepped over to the two girls who were dangerously close to exploding Wanda's fearsome temper. Wanda tensed briefly as he put an arm around her shoulders but relaxed at the 'play-along' look he shot her. "You see, there's this whole long complicated story but anyway, my mom's parents had adopted her and so she's technically my aunt. Actually all of our aunt." He gestured to Remy, Rogue, Scott, and Kitty.

Lance sent Carmen a small smile. She fluttered her eyelashes. "I remember you. You're the guy with the soap opera story. And so the plot thickens." She joked. Then she took a closer look at the tiny three-year-old girl who was still audibly distressing over the leash/harness. "I know you too! Li'l Maria, right?"

Rogue stopped yelling just long enough to glare at the store employee. She then sucked in a breath and started wailing. She even managed to bring tears from her eyes. She cried and howled and raged. "Mah name is NOT Maria! Its Marie!" The child sobbed. 

The Spanish speaking girl backed away slowly. "I am so sorry, honey." She was rewarded with another glare. "Cute kid." She said wryly to Lance. "Well, she does not seem to like me too much so I'll just go help the other customers." The girl turned and left.

"Ah hate her." Rogue said with venom in her small voice. "She ain't a nice pehson (person)." The small girl glared at the others retreating back.

Wanda pulled the girl close. Rogue was trembling slightly. It was mostly out of anger, but part was exhaustion. She had just about screamed herself out of energy.

"Shhh. Calm down R-Marie. It'll be alright." She said softly to the tiny child who sucked in breath after breath and tried to regulate her breathing. "I don't like her much either. But you don't need to be so enthusiastic."

In a few short moments, Rogue had almost entirely calmed down. "Good girl Marie. Don't let that mean old girl bother you." Wanda smiled. Rogue yawned and stepped away from Wanda. She sat down on the floor near where Remy, Kitty, and Pyro sat playing with some things from one of the bags. She cuddled close to Remy and the two played with the toys Lance had got for them. 

Wanda smiled as Rogue drifted off to sleep, leaning against the wall and her newly discovered best friend.

Meanwhile, Lance had not recovered from what he had seen. His jaw would come unhinged if it dropped any further. His eyes were wide. He had never seen Wanda so...so...maternal. And he had lived in the same house as her for a long while.

Pietro took that opportunity to reenter the store. "She-calmed-down-yet?" He asked. 

"Shhh." Wanda put a finger to her lips. "She's sleeping, Pie." She pointed to the little-girl, who was leaning into her friend's shoulder. "She drained her energy while screaming. And we don't want to disturb her."

"Uh, okay." Pietro whispered. Then he caught sight of Lance, who was still goggling at his sister. "What-are-you-looking-at-Alvers?" He demanded.

"She...Wanda....they...Marie...we..." Lance answered, dumbstruck.

"Alright." Pietro rolled his eyes. "Now-that-you-just-gave-us-this-year's-most-intelligent-answer," The impatient seventeen-year-old said sarcastically.

Lance shook out of his stupor. "Your sister! She calmed Rogue down! It was weird. She was like she was Rogue's mom or something. I can't even tell you how shocked I am that Wanda is so naturally good with kids!"

Pietro shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Whatever. Just...don't-stare-at-my-sister-like-that-anymore. It-creeps-me-out." Lance gave his friend an odd look and nodded. 

Wanda flushed slightly. She knew Lance wasn't interested in her that way, but still, her brother lacked any modesty about that kind of topic that was courteous to have around others.

Noticing that she looked slightly upset, the pint-sized version of Pyro toddled over. 

"Up!" He demanded while grinning. She smiled and gently lifted the two-year-old Aussie into her lap on the bench.

"Dunn (Don't) be sad, Sheila." He lectured, flashing his toothy grin. "No wowwies, roight (no worries, right? in Heartsyhawk's version of Aussie talk)?

After about half an hour, all the other groups showed up. They congregated in the entrance hall thingy. 

"Okay, good job kids. Except for a few...minor issues, all of you were angels in there. And as promised, you'll get a treat. But it won't be right now cuz we have to go home first." Lance smiled at all the children. The reason they would be going home first was that all of them looked drowsy and slightly worn out. The only one fully awake seemed to be Remy, but that was only because he was making sure his friend was okay and helping her walk to Lance's jeep. 

Jaime and Piotr met the group with ginormous bags from the toy store and the announcement that they had already delivered the furniture to the mansion. 

Lance had everybody hurry home. The kidlets needed naps and food and stuff like that. Also, if they weren't home soon, Pietro would start whining about the dates he had to prepare for that night, and Lance's nerves could only take so much whining and complaining. It was bad enough from toddlers but much more annoying from a seventeen-year-old guy.

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

So what did yah think? I am SOOOOOOO sorry that this took so long. But I have a few legitimate excuses. Number 1: I have been in the middle of a series of standardized testings that determine whether or not I graduate high school. I will not type the name of the dreaded beast for I am done with the wretched thing and want no part of it to haunt my memory. Number 2: I noticed a fatal flaw to the plotline in this chapter so I had to revise the whole thing. I realized it when I had this all typed up so I had to start from scratch. I can't tell what it was because it would seriously give away the whole plot and a few secrets that are gonna be big news later. Number 3: I have been tirelessly searching for my new minions to replace the trained assassin penguins. The mimes, well, I still have nightmares of them. So I think I have found a safe alternative to assassins and freakishly mute clowns. They are the Ninja-like Swedish Monkeys. Their pay is reasonable: reviews and I know you guys will help me with that one...won't you? They also request humor and good Fanfiction stories, so again, part of that one is on you guys...Anywhoozles, I promise that things won't take so long next time. The next chapter isn't so long and NO MORE STUPID TESTING!!!!!! That adrenaline rush alone will push me to do some serious butt-hauling and write.

Oh by the way, Alix will be posting something tomorrow. She finally wrote something really good and I made her promise not to burn it like she does with her work that she does not like too much. Her screen name will be like EviltwinAlix or something like that. But it's a poem called "Love Letter". Check her out and review it please. She needs the self-esteem booster. She wants to know that people like her stuff. I think its pretty good but only you can tell her the truth.

Oh yes, I forgot almost entirely about the question! Silly me! Let me see...*scratches chin in thought* hmm...Okay I've got it. If Barbie has Everything....Why do you have to buy her friends? And Better yet...Why do you have to buy her family and boyfriend?*smirks*

Okay as for an X-men pondering question....**_Where_** did Rogue learn how to ride a snowmobile (and a quad, and a motorcycle)?!?! Or to quote everybody's **_favorite_** stuck-up Summers "Where'd a Southern gal like you learn to ride a snowmobile?" (Cited: episode "Turn of the Rogue")

okey dokey smokey! go-bye-bye! And don't forget to help feed and pay the Ninja-like Swedish Monkeys!

PS: Happy Vernal Equinox, Happy Good Friday, Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Happy Christmas. OOPS! Sorry, wrong season, but seriously, happy whatever you celebrate.

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Chapter 9 completed Thursday April 8th


	9. MINI MUTANT!

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Howdy my peoples!

Guess what!!!! I have no idea why but I am in an especially hyper, silly mood! So sit back, relax, and let me tell you my tale...

Misa1126-Did I get your name right? I had some trouble reading my own writing...Anywhoozles, thanks. I am glad you enjoy this.

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xmengirlzrule- Hey I am glad you like it. Hmm, so you like Lance in this huh? Well, he definately has much more in store for everyone; and he is not the only one...

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Vingirl- I'm glad you like it.

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me- Very Glad!

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whiterose934- I'm glad you feel welcome. After all, what kind of host would I be if the guests into my world didn't feel welcome? I'm sure that the Mind-Erasing Reviewer Donkey and the Ninja-like Swedish Monkeys will be great friends. They salute you for providing them with a friend. Anywhoozles, I'm glad you like it. Thank you so much for the Spanish correction. I did say I speak Spanish like a French cow. My sister is soooo dead! She's been going around using that in context...I feel like such an uber idiot. Thanx a megaton for the cookie too :)

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ishandahalf-My parents made me wear one of those stupid pink harness leashes as a li'l kid. That's where I got the idea (and I think the abhorrence of pink...) Yeah, I loved doing Remy's reaction to the leash-thingies. Hm, I don't think girlish screaming is **_too_** bad for your health...

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howlerdrode- Yes, I actually do have some experience with kidlets in toy stores. For one thing, I have a little brother and sister. Not to mention my twin who acts like a three-year-old herself sometimes. I based the little ones' reactions on my littlest sister. NO! You have it all wrong! You see, the sugar bowl stealing monkeys are solely native to Kenya. But yes, these are the same monkeys who attempted to invade Brazil a while back. They were exported to me cuz the Brazilians didn't like them too much. They even sent a spy to make sure that I keep the rascals in check. But you'd have to ask Roberto about that; he'd know the WHOLE story (seeing as he's the spy...) Ok. Thanx for the answering of the question. So, Southern kids can all ride huh? By the time they are six!?! Wow! That's good to know... Becky makes Jean likeable?!? I did not know that was even possible! She wasn't meant to come out so...witchy...but I based her on this girl at my school. Yeah, the human base is just a cruel little snob but I always have loved the name (I have a grandmother named Becky :) ) But anyway, I was angry with her for ditching team practice and I kinda let my anger form the character. *shrugs nonchalantly* Hmm, Jean would do well in that job wouldn't she....But the poor customers...

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crazyspaceystracey- Awesome name. Glad you like the story.

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SperryDee- I am glad you love it.

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Avid Fan- Hee Hee, glad you like my digressions and intros. I am also glad to hear that my "black humor" worked. I was slightly worried that it would be too much. I thought itty-bitty-Kitty interrupting the would be Lance/Carmen flirtation was priceless. It seems that you find so much to enjoy with my work. Who knows? The penguins may pop in for a visit sometime...It is really weird with lyric and song "glue" isn't it?

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EviltwinAlix- Its about time you reviewed this, you lazy bum of a twin sister! So you think this is too sweet? Ah go see the dentist. Yes! I deliberately put the plot hole you picked up in there! Nobody noticed! So congrats. Anyhow, U shall see my sister. Well its your own fault! If you didn't keep staying out late partying with your friends, you wouldn't be grounded, now would you? You're going to make her make curfew earlier! I heard her and Dad talking about ten! Again, it is not my fault the story is so sweet but you are right. These people definately are blind. I added that detail that you picked up on expecting a million WHAT??????'s. And I only had you notice...

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Maggie- You are right. Lance would be a good nanny. In answer to your question, yep, I have a littler sister, and a little brother who is two years older than my littlest sister. I also have a twin who's six minutes younger. So I can base this story on those experiences. Being the oldest and supposedly most mature, I have dealt with it all. I like your theory...Thanks for answering the question. By the way, your English seems fine to me :)

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Lady Farevay- I am glad you love it. Yeah, the leashes are cool. And Remy probably could escape. But the shock and indignance prevented him from remembering that. Yeah, Lance is pretty cool. I'd have to say that he is my second favorite X-Men Evolution guy, after Remy of course. I'm glad you like "my" Lance. So you like Wanda being all sweet and maternal, huh? So do I. It does make a nice change from the homicidal witch that she started out as in the show. But even then I thought she was cool and I knew that she was just angry and that wasn't really her.

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Marie LeBeau- (x3) Ok. So the first chapter is lame but I did warn against that. It gets better I promise. Oh by the way congrats. You were the first person to give me a completely mean review. On to your second review, glad you like chapter 2 at least. Third review, glad you like it. Thanx.

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Disclaimer- *raises right hand* I solemnly swear that I do not in any way shape or form own any part of X-men. Evolution or otherwise. *whispers* But....I have an interesting lead on the magic pink sock so don't give up hope my peoples.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

The teens who drove home hurried. Certain members of the bunch were getting cranky. Rogue, for one, was becoming upset and snapping for silly things. The first incident was while Lance held her hand on the way to his jeep. He had been holding Kitty in one arm, and in the other, he held the leash handles of Scott and Remy (who was muttering incoherently in French and Lance was sure he did not want to understand what was being said. But a few times the phrases "When de Guild hears 'bout dis" and "y' gonna git in BIG trouble" were definitely audible.) But Anyway, to protect the feisty three-year-old, he had insisted on directly holding her hand instead of just her leash strap (which was coiled around his wrist). Scott had suddenly tripped and Lance stopped to help him up. Rogue had stumbled on the fallen four-year-old's foot. She went down hard. She had immediately made a move to kick Summers. Remy had caught her and told her that bruising her poor foot wouldn't help take the pain away-or make Scott less klutzy. So for the rest of the short trip to the Jeep, Remy winced and stopped every four steps to rub the forming bruise on his ankle.

When they got to the Jeep, Lance quickly put Kitty into one of the car-seats he had just bought. He forced Rogue into another. She wasn't too happy but she was too tired to resist to the full extent of her abilities. Since he didn't want any problems, he put Remy into the seat next to Rogue and Scott up front. Neither of them had baby seats. They were all so tired that they were asleep almost immediately.

Lance sorely wished he had a camera for the sight that he found just after he grumbled and climbed into the driver's seat. He turned back to the kids and found Rogue with her head leaning on Remy's. Kitty had dropped her head onto Rogue's vacant shoulder. Even Scott in the front seat had nodded off adorably leaning on the door.

"How is it that when you guys are awake, you frequently make me want to dive off a bridge into a heap of rocks but I feel like I have to protect you and keep you safe from harm when you are sleeping. Jeez you guys go from demons to angels in minutes. I wonder if all kids are like this." The older boy mused to himself. Then he chuckled. "I suppose I might as well hope that Xavier magically grows a whole head of hair. That is more likely to happen than it just being you four midgets."

On the way home, Lance detoured at a CVS. He picked up a few cases of band-aids, some anti-biotic spray, a few ice packs, a giant box of lollipops and a basic first aid kit. Something told him that it would be used a lot.

When Lance finally arrived at the institute, the kids were still sleeping. So Lance enlisted the aid of Piotr, Amanda, and Sam to carry Remy, Rogue, and Scott respectively into the mansion, while he gently brought in Kitty. The kids were all put into their beds. Piotr had had the people who brought the furniture and stuff arrange the beds so that each little kid was accompanied at least by an older teen. And while Lance and the others had been a few hours at Babies-R-Us, Piotr, Jamie, and Evan had set up guard rails on the beds so that the little kids could sleep in the beds that were already there except for Amara and Toad. They were both so little and fragile that they required cribs.

Piotr, Jamie, and Evan had also set up a play pen in the rec room. Or rather it was four large playpens put together to equal one big one that was separated by age groups.

After about half an hour of nap time, the mini-mutants were awake and bouncing with renewed energy. The big problem this caused was that while the kids were all hyper and wired, the older kids were still partially recovering from the ordeal in the store.

So, into the playpens they went. The biggest section was for the six two-year-olds. New toys were strewn into all the pens. The two-year-old mutants had safe-and soft-toys and dolls. There were a few remote controlled cars but they were little kid safe. 

The pen Amara and Toad were put in was lined with pillows and fluffy stuffed animals. Two of those things where the baby can play with like shapes, a bell, a kid-proof radio, and hanging things were set up in the center. It had been predetermined that the two littlest of their age reduced friends were able to crawl. But in the event that they were watched carefully, Sam and Wanda (who if you remember each had either Toad or Amara) decided that baby-walker devices were a good idea. 

As for Rogue and Jean, the two in the three-year-old pen, the trio of toy-shopping boys had picked an abundance of dolls, Barbies, cute animals, and a box of clothes for "dress up". Apparently, they had all entirely forgotten Rogue. She nearly had a conniption fit at seeing the pen she was unceremoniously deposited into contained mostly pink and purple "girlie toys".

She had scurried to the edge of the pen and stared enviously at Remy and Scott. Their pen had been equipped with "cool toys" like cars, robots, sports stuff, and of course the beloved TV, with the new N-64 system Jamie had insisted on. 

The young girl seemed to think it was quite unfair. She stared at a small heap of Barbie dolls near her feet. She gingerly picked one up. She sneered in pure disgust and hurled it at Remy.

"Fun in the Sun" Barbie hit the back of the four-year-old's head. "Ow!"

He rubbed his head and turned. "What?" He asked, slightly exasperated.

"Ah'm bored." She grinned angelically. "Ah don' lahke (like) these toys. They all pink an' ickeh (icky)! Ya gots anehthang (anything) Ah could play with?"

He smiled and came over to the division of their play areas. "Sho' (sure)." He pulled one of his new decks of cards out of his pocket. "Y' know how t' play "Go Fetch" ("Go Fish" in little kidlet talk)?"

"A li'l." She smirked smugly. The two sat down and Remy clumsily dealt the cards through the fence. The two quietly began to play.

"Ah'm realleh (really) sorreh (sorry) Ah got mad earlieh (earlier). Ah shouldn'ta (shouldn't have) kicked ya."

"'S okay, Remy guesses. But dat did hurt."

Rogue shrugged. "Mama says dat Ah git dat from heh (her)."

Lance smiled as this scene unfolded. It was just too cute. And he was also thanking his lucky stars that those two were quietly playing with no blood shed. He also thanked God that Jean was occupying herself with the dolls and junk and Scott was glued to the N-64 system playing Pokemon Stadium. 

Lance was not as lucky with the largest group of toddlers. The six two year olds were all being rowdy enough for about sixty kids their size. Suddenly the phone rang.

"Hello, mutant manor, Lance speaking." 

Forge's voice chuckled over the phone. "You sure its safe to answer the phone that way man? With all the anti-mutant garbage going on?"

"Don't worry dude, two words for you: caller Id." Lance grinned. Then he grew hopeful. "So what's up? Have you fixed it yet?"

A sigh. "Sorry Lance, I am working on it. That is actually why I 'm calling. I have some uh...very bad news."

Lance frowned. "How bad is very bad?" He asked almost afraid to find out.

"Uh...well...this may be...a permanent thing...."

"WHAT!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?" Lance bellowed, instantly he was full of temper and rage.

"It isn't definite." Forge tried to explain quickly. "Whatever happened is just not covered in any of my data. I have to start from square one...I am trying really hard to figure it out. I am almost positive I can recreate the experiment exactly."

Lance gulped. "So, are the little ones destined to have fifteen years of deja vous? If they are what happens next?"

Forge's voice grew sorrowful. "I guess that you'll just have to get used to having little kids around. I am really sorry man."

Lance swallowed. His eyes threatened to tear but he fought it. "I...I know. But you said it might not be permanent thing right? So I can still hope..." Lance broke off, disgusted with himself and the high, almost whiney pitch his voice had taken. He knew he sounded pathetic.

"Look, Alvers, you really should call Xavier." Forge said in a haggard voice. "He and McCoy might be able to do something. Or at least help out. Besides, you can't keep them as kids. What about their families? What do you say when Shadowcat's parents or Summers' little brother call? What would you say to the freaking royal family of Nova Roma? 'Uh sorry to tell you this but princess Amara is unable to talk right now. No, she doesn't have a cold or something. She's unable to come to the phone because she's getting a diaper change?'" I think that wouldn't sit too well with the king and queen."

"Its your freaking fault! You deal with their parents!"

"Lance, be logical. Even if I did that, the parents would flip out. Call Xavier. I'll put a bit more effort into finding the solution to whatever the heck went wrong. Please Lance, you are all still kids. Let the adults handle this one..."With that, the time suspended mutant hung up. Lance slammed the phone onto the base and swore bitterly.

"What was tha' abou' (about)?" Rahne asked, a bit startled by his behavior.

"Just Forge." Lance sighed and peered into the eyes of the fourteen-year-old girl. She seemed excited.

"Did he figure this whole mess out?" Her big puppy dog eyes (hee-hee literally) shined with hope.

"Look kid," he started. He was going to tell her the truth. But this new-found mature side of him couldn't bear to take that smile off her face or the hope out of her eyes. "No he hasn't." Rahne's face fell. "Yet." Lance smiled. The girl had grinned wide and happily. "But, look, don't get your hopes up on it being too soon, okay Rahne?"

The girl nodded and hurried over to Jubilee to talk about some girlie-gossip thing. Lance cast a weary glance over the room. He realized he couldn't bear to tell any of them the truth. He sighed inwardly and started to get used to the idea of having kids around all the time.

Lance was dragged out of his thoughts by multiple screams. It appeared that several arguments had broken out. 

"Me think it poople (purple)!"

"Nuh-uh! Pink!"

Lance turned toward the sound of two little girls screaming at each other. Apparently Kitty and Tabitha had started an argument about something.

"Poople is so de pwettiest cowoah (purple is so the prettiest color)!!!" Tabby howled.

"You wong (wrong)! Pinks the pwettiest. Poople is stupid. (pink is the prettiest. Purple is stupid)!" Kitty argued.

Lance sighed and made his way over to break it up as Tabby threw a hit towards Kitty. Pietro made it faster. 

"Whoa-cool-it-Pryde. Boom-Boom,-don't-hit-its-bad." The older boy mumbled as her dragged the girl's apart. He placed Kitty into Lance's out stretched arms and shook his head as Tabitha ran over to where Kurt, Bobby, and Pyro were fighting over a toy car. She snatched said car up with a defiant "MINE!" Of course, the three boys grew upset. They chased her as she ran around the pen. She knocked over Freddy, who was complaining about his hunger in loud angry tones. This of course caused a chain tripping reaction. And shortly, five two-year-olds were crying. Kitty observed this and of course cried for the sake of crying. 

As if this wasn't bad enough, Todd and Amara kept bellowing because they were being ignored and woken up and hey, if the others were screaming, obviously there was a reason they should join in.

Eight of the older teens immediately ran to the aid of the kids. Lance went to Kitty, Pietro to Tabby, Amanda to Kurt, Jubilee to Bobby, Piotr to Pyro, Sam to Freddy, Rahne hurried to calm Amara. And as she would swear later, Wanda only went to comfort crying Toad cuz no body else moved to him.

It took a few moments to calm all the upset children. After all the tears had been controlled, Rogue cleared her throat and turned two large emerald orbs toward Wanda, whom she seemed to trust for reasons unknown to everybody else. "When we gonna git lunch? We hungreh (hungry). At home Ah git mah lunch bah (by) noon. Iss gotta be later than that now cuz Ah'm hungreh (hungry). An' Ah thank (think) all of everybody else gots ta be too."

A few teens smiled at the little child. "We'll get started right away, how's that sound Marie?" Lance said kindly. He headed to the kitchen before she could respond.

Once inside the kitchen, Lance groaned. He realized one crucial factor. Storm was gone. Remy and Blob were both toddlers. Same with Rogue. Sam couldn't cook to save his soul-or at least so he claimed. That meant all the experienced cooks were not available. Lance had done most of the cooking at the Brotherhood. The trouble was that his idea of cooking involved the strenuous task of dialing out for pizza, Chinese, grinders, or anything else that could be delivered. And that stuff wasn't exactly baby-safe food. 

He opened the cabinet door and scoped out the contents. He was still rather baby-illiterate. He wasn't too aware of what little kids could eat. He decided on Spaghetti-O's (a product of a company that Heartsyhawk does not own.) They looked pretty hard to choke on and they were quite palatable (that means tastes good) for kids and teens of all ages. So he cooked a few cans of the stuff and called everybody in.

After locking the kids into highchairs (much to the dismay of a few select individuals. Take a wild guess.) Lance served each toddler a baby-safe bowl (a bowl with a suction cup on the bottom that sticks to the tray of the high chair) of the Spaghetti-O's.

This was the cause of mixed reactions. Some, such as Kurt, Freddy, and Tabby launched themselves into it and pigged out immediately. Kitty took a more picky approach. She delicately ate a small "O". She decided it was edible and dug into the meal like she was starved. Jean sniffed in indignation.

"There had best not be one "O" more then 57." Jean snapped at Lance, who calmly counted back from 10. 

"Eww!" Rogue stated as she looked into her bowl. "Ah don' like Sketti-O's. (Spaghetti-O's) Peez don' make me eat em." Rogue smiled angelically.

"Ro-Marie, Please?" Lance begged.

"Alright, yah asked nahce. (nice)." The small girl grimaced and took a bite off of the spoonful. She swallowed and grimaced again. "Ah'm done." She took her spoon and broke the suction cup device's hold off her tray. She put the bowl on Remy's tray. He smiled in appreciation and reached for it.

"T'ank y' Marie." She watched him, halfway between amused and repulsed. He ate his serving and then proceeded onto hers.

"How kin y'all eat that stuff?" Rogue wrinkled her nose in curiosity. 

"Its nummy (yummy = tastes good) Mawie! (Marie)" Kurt laughed. She smiled shakily.

Pyro ate his fill and then decided that the rest of his portion made an extra-ordinary face paint/shampoo. 

Lance gazed skyward. "Why me?" He shook his head in dismay. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Pyro then decided that he should not just paint himself. So he tossed a small handful at Jean who immediately shrieked. Apparently, she did not enjoy having orange hair and skin.

"For-the-love-of-Pixie-Stix!" Pietro cried as a fistful of orange, gooey, "o's" hit him full in the face. "This-has-to-stop! Somebody-quickly-get-that-bowl-away-from-that-little-pest!"

Quickly, Lance removed the almost entirely orange pint-sized pyromaniac from his high chair. He looked as if he had just been told to swallow a live worm at the prospect of holding the messy child but his face and heart softened at the amused giggle that escaped the kid's grin.

"Now don't you do that kiddo." Lance tried to sound serious, but his grin gave him away. "Don't waste food. Or throw it. Or put it anywhere but in your mouth. Do you understand me?" The two year old nodded innocently.

"Good boy." Lance looked at his friends, teammates, and the toddlers. "Guys I think that these little cretins are all in need of a B-A-T-H." He spelled so there would be no crazy fits or tantrums.

Several of the older kids nodded in agreement. The three and four year olds all seemed to know what was being referred to. Amazingly, Rogue had no argument. Jean sneered at Lance. "All I can say is that I have very pensitive (sensitive) skin. I need speckle (special) soap. And my water must be lukewarm." Everybody ignored the girl's demands. 

"Ok, before we get into this, I think we should avoid any guys supervising girl's baths and vice versa," Amanda said logically. "That would just be wrong on so many levels." Everybody nodded in agreement. "And there are only three full bathrooms that we have access to. Those are the one's down by the rec room and the guys bathroom and girls bathroom upstairs. So we are going to have to space this out."

Everybody nodded and Pietro coughed. "If-no-body-minds-I-need-a-quick-shower. I-have-to-get-to-a-date-with-uh...Michelle-or-Melissa-or-something-in-twenty-minutes." Lance nodded and the speedster rushed off. In two minutes, he was back, fully showered, dressed nicely, and hair perfectly styled in its usual gravity defying style.

"See-you-later-slowpokes!" He called behind him as he rushed off. 

"Uh, doesn't he, like, have twenty minutes?" Jubilee asked confused.

"That's Pietro for you." Lance said in a voice that was difficult to distinguish from brotherly affection or disgust. It may have been a healthy mix of both. "That gives him twenty extra minutes to flirt with other random girls he meets on the way."

"But, Monica's his girlfriend!" Jubilee gasped.

"No, Monica was three days ago. Tonight's date is Mina." Lance said grimly. His disgust in his best friend's dating habits. Most people would peg lance as "the bad-boy type" as Wanda had once joked. However, he took dating and romance and other matters of the heart VERY seriously. He hated how Pietro was with a different "girlfriend" every night. The super-fast albino never loved any of the girls he led on. He would make them think he did, certainly. But with such great speed comes a terribly short attention span. He grew bored with the girls he dated almost the instant they accepted dates. He had a strict policy of one date per girl. Lance...Well, Lance hadn't dated a girl other than Kitty Pryde since he had met her back at their hometown in Illinois.

"My brother is so..." Wanda wrinkled her nose. "I can't even think of the right word!"

"Ok, yeah, I am so sure all of us could keep going about the negative stuff about Pietro." Evan assured her. "He's always been that way, when I first met him in second grade he flirted with the teacher to get out of detention! And then..." Evan would have kept going but Amanda had cleared her throat and was giving a rather stern look.

"Look, this is all really intriguing but we can all exchange Pietro hate stories after we have remembered that we have twelve toddlers to care for. They have to be our first priority."

Lance nodded in agreement. The teens put all the kids into the play areas. Lance, Evan, and Sam were the boys who administered baths for the boys. Wanda, Amanda, and Jubilee took the girls. Piotr helped Jamie clean up Toad who was slightly difficult as it seemed he was terrified of the water. At least until they gave him a small rubber frog. He seemed to enjoy that and he gurgled and splashed happily.

Rahne pretty much followed the advice given to her by Jubilee to clean up Amara. That little girl cooed happily and threw a screaming fit when she was removed from the water.

Roberto took off because he had a soccer practice to get to. So Sam took Bobby and Kurt.

A few minutes after they had gone up to the boy's bathroom upstairs, Sam was frustrated and grumbling about blue fur in the tub. Bobby kept complaining that the water was too hot for him, even though Sam argued that it was almost freezing.

After five minutes, Amanda took Rogue and Jean up to the girl's bathroom. Lance brought Freddy and Pyro to the down stairs bathroom. Pyro was screaming and crying and clinging to everything on the way.

"NO BATH!" He sobbed. "Please NOOOOO! I'm gonna die! The wateh (water) gonna kill Johnny! Noooooooo!" Lance was extremely worried that somebody passing the institute would call the police.

He hurried through the process and the kid was still screaming as he was put into the water and didn't even realize when he was done. It was only when he found a fluffy towel wrapped around him did he reduce it to mild sniffles.

"Was it really that bad?" Lance asked in exasperation. He rolled his eyes at the reproachful glare the two-year-old boy gave him.

"You bad. I hate you!" He spat viciously. "Bad Bath!"

Lance rolled his eyes and brought the kids back down to the play areas. "Next" he called, wearily. 

Amanda brought Rogue and Jean into the bathroom. There were no real problems except Jean throwing a mild temper tantrum because she wanted the shampoo to smell like strawberries but Amanda used peppermint on the two girls.

The last two sets of baths were Kitty and Tabby who were given Wanda as a chaperone and Evan's crew of Remy and Scott.

The upstairs boy's bathroom opened and Evan told the two boys he was temporarily in charge of to hurry up to the bathroom.

"Remy knows how t' bafe (bathe) 'imself!" The indignant four-year-old frowned and grumbled stubbornly. "Besides, Remy don' wanna be watched!"

"Fine then, I'll sit outside the door. Which is fine by me. Just go on." Evan grumbled. He wanted to go hang with his friends and skate but no, he had to baby-sit for his teammates. He felt it was so unfair, Pietro had been allowed to leave and go on the four dates he had but Evan was restricted to the mansion for bath-time.

From the girl's bathroom, a sudden scream erupted and was followed by a loud splash. Tabby and Kitty hurried down the stairs as quickly as two-year-old girls can go. Tabitha was completely dressed in a yellow t-shirt and denim shorts. However, Kitty was only wearing a baby blue t-shirt and training pants and socks.

Wanda erupted down the stairs. She was soaking wet and looking furious as she followed the escaped girls.

"The little brat bit me!" She growled to Lance and Amanda, who looked about ready to laugh. "I got Tabitha dressed after a bit of an argument. Then, as I was working on Kitty, Tabitha, that terrible monster, bit my wrist. I slipped on a puddle that had been splashed out of the bathtub and fell into the still draining tub! Then both of the devils escaped! And-you two think this is funny don't you!?!" She growled.

"Sorry Wanda." Amanda smiled. "We didn't think they'd be that way for you. But it is just that...well, you are soaking wet. And you are kind of funny when you are mad."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny. Did you see where either of the little terrorists scampered off to?"

Piotr re-entered the rec-room-turned-play-room. In one hand, he gently dragged a struggling blonde two-and-a-half-year-old. Kitty was in his other arm. He smiled and handed Kitty to Wanda. "I believe you lost this." Then he put Tabitha into the play pen.

"Out! Out! Out!" She demanded. "Let Tabby out!" She tried climbing the pen and failed. The tall silent Russian merely smiled and clipped her into her harness and tied her to the bars. She could still move and get to toys but it was clearly punishment.

"Thank you." Wanda smiled gratefully at Piotr who nodded in response. 

"It was nothing." The Russian nodded, with a slight blush to his face. "My sister Ilyana vas (was) an imp as a baby as vell (Well)." A distant look crossed his face.

"I'm sorry." Wanda said gently.

"Vell (Well) anyvay (anyway) you had best go finish taking care of Kitty." He smiled. Wanda nodded and a few minutes later returned with Kitty wearing a pair of pink overalls over the training underwear and t-shirt.

Suddenly the mansion's front door burst open. Pietro entered with a tremendous scowl in place. "Honestly!" He screamed, talking to himself. "You'd think that just because you mess up a girl's name she would forgive you, but no! Of course not for me!"

"Hey Pietro, weren't you supposed to have four dates tonight?" Lance asked wearily.

"Yeah. The first went fine. Then I got to the movies for the second one, the girl got all ticked off because I got her name wrong."

Lance sighed. "What did you call her and what's her name?"

"Her name is Stacey but I called her Casey."

"So, that's close, at least you didn't call Emily, Rosanna or something like again. So what's the big deal?"

"Casey is Stacey's twin sister. I was out with her two nights ago."

"Oh, I got it. Not the best way to start a date. No girl likes the fact that her current boyfriend was dating her sister just a few days ago and then calls her by that name."

Pietro grumbled. But before he could respond properly, Scott came dashing into the room. He was fully dressed but his hair was sopping and splashing water all over the floor. His eyes were wide, or at least the highly raised eyebrows indicated that over the rim of his red sunglasses which were strapped to his head by a special swim band.

"Eban (Evan) said a real bad word on font (in front) ob (of) me an' that mean brat with scawy (scary) eyes!" He tattled.

"Who Remy?" Amanda asked, obviously distracted by the squirming infant whom she was trying to force into a nice change of clothes. "What did he say?" She asked as Amara whined and tried to tug her arm out of the sleeve hole.

"Not Remy! Eban (Evan) said...he said the bad word that rhymes with...duck!" The boy whispered in awe.

Amanda gasped in shock. Along with her, the unanimous gasp of all the x-men present rang out. Amanda shook her head and grabbed the four-year-old's hand and stormed up to the boy's bathroom furiously. 

"Evan!" Amanda snarled.

The boy jumped in surprise. "Uh, hey Amanda. What's up girl?" He already had a slight guilty edge to his voice.

"You'll never guess what Scott just told me." She crossed her arms in irritation. 

"Uh, I don't know. What?"

"He says that you just said something that is definately not appropriate for children's ears to hear."

He gave her a blank look.

"He says you said a bad word." She glared.

Remy, at this moment opened the bathroom door and peeked out. He was still fully dressed except for his shoes and socks. His hair was dry so it was obvious that he was still waiting for a bath.

"Uh, I did?" Evan scratched his chin in confusion.

"Uh huh!" Remy chirped cheerfully. "He did! He said-"

Amanda screamed in shock at the exact moment the impish four-year-old Cajun said the word.

Shame and recognition flickered in Spyke's eyes. "Oh yeah...that...."

Amanda began inhaling short angry breaths. "What exactly did you say to these two, Daniels?" She asked in the dangerous tone Rogue usually took when infuriated.

Evan gulped nervously. "I...uh....well..."

A set of large red-and-black eyes glittered fiestily. "He said , an Remy quotes him zactly (exactly) "Mam, ah wish dat ah wasn't stick ob baby-sipping duty. Dis whole LeStrangement is cereally ducked up." On'y he di'n' say ducked! (Man, I wish that I wasn't stuck on baby-sitting duty. This whole arrangement is seriously (YOU KNOW WHAT GOES HERE!!!!!) up)" The young Cajun grinned.

"Um, oops?" Evan offered.

For a moment, Amanda looked like an almost erupting volcano. Then she shook her head to clear it and gritted her teeth. "Evan Daniels! I sincerely hope you are proud! You now have a four-year-old saying that awful word!"

She looked like there was a huge lecture ready to attack him, but he wisely took the opportunity to turn and run-very fast in the other direction towards his bedroom.

Aggravated, she turned to the smirking boy who leaned against the door. "Ok, Remy. I NEVER want to hear you say that word again okay?" She asked as gently as she could.

"Kay." He hung his head sheepishly. Amanda smiled and ruffled his hair, much to his annoyance. 

"That's a good little boy." She smiled again.

"Jus' got un problem." The toddler looked her directly in the eyes. "Y' di'n' say pweez. (please)." With that, the tiny terror took the opportunity to run off, laughing madly.

Amanda groaned and chased after the kid. He wasn't watching where he was going and so he abruptly ran into the corner in the hall. Amanda caught up with him and just as she did, she heard a dull "thud" and then there was screaming.

"Oh my gosh!" She ran over to where the kid sat on the floor clutching his nose, which was bleeding slightly.

Remy whimpered a little and yelped as she picked him up and gently touched his nose with a tissue from the bathroom. "Owie!" He sniffled and struggled to get out of Amanda's grasp. "Lemme go!" He whined.

She rolled her eyes and sat him up on the hamper for dirty clothes at the end of the hall. "Nope. Let me see where you hit." She pried his hands away from his nose as gently as she could. "It isn't too bad. You'll be okay." 

"On hearing that he wasn't mortally wounded for the rest of his life, the crying seceded to quiet sniffles and whimpers. But he decided to milk the sympathy for all it was worth.

"Remy's nose hurts." He pouted. 

"I know," Amanda smiled. "But you're being such a big brave boy." He smiled with the air of some tragic hero who returned from a terrible war. 

"Kin Remy have a pop-pickle?" He asked with big, sad-puppy-eyes. (pop-pickle= Popsicle) 

Amanda laughed. "We'll see. But first we need to get you a bath."

Remy scowled. "Don' need a baff (bath). We could just skip dat part." He informed her hopefully.

The older girl shook her head. "No, I don't think so." Before he could bolt again, she scooped him up and carried him back to the bathroom. She was so focused on not dropping the squirmy four-year-old, she accidentally walked straight into Pietro who was angrily muttering to himself as he walked-yes you read that right it said walked-down the hall to his room.

The two collided with an "oops" from both.

"Hey-watch-it!" Pietro snapped. "Oh sorry Sefton."

"You okay?" Amanda asked hesitantly. He was acting awfully distracted and not as impatient as normal.

"No. But, its-just-girl-trouble. You-wouldn't-understand." He sighed.

"Try me." She said with a raised eyebrow as she shifted Remy's weight in her arms. " After all, I am a girl." She pointed out,

"Fine. I-went-out-with-Mina-to-the-movies. That-went-fine. But-on-the-second-date, I-called-the-girl-by-her-twin-sister's-name. It-just-so-happens-that-I-had-dated-her-twin-a-little-while-ago. So-she-got-all-offended-and-called-her-best-friend-to-rant. Well, I-had-no-clue-that-the-friend-was-my-third-date-but-she-canceled-when-she-found-out. Then-the-girl-called-her-cousin-who-coincedentally-was-my-fourth-date."

Amanda blinked and let this information soak in. "Oh. I'm...sorry." She said awkwardly. "But maybe this ought to teach you something."

Pietro gave her a scathing glance. "Yeah, to-do-background-checks-on -all-my -dates-before-they-begin-so-I -know-which-ones-are-psychos-before-the-date."

Amanda sighed. "Not the lesson I was hoping for." He smirked. "Look, Pietro, I am actually glad you are here. Evan was supposed to help out with getting Gambit cleaned up. But, it appears that he has some...issues with language in front of four-year-olds." With this last statement, she shot an agitated glare to Evan's closed bedroom door.

Pietro smirked in amusement at the fact that his foe was getting in trouble with a girl who he wasn't even dating or anything.

"Can you do it? Please? I would but it would just be weird, you know? I am a girl with no desire to see any guy with no clothes, especially one who is really older than me but in a four-year-old's body. I think I would need some serious therapy after that."

Pietro smirked and nodded in agreement. "Look Sefton, after this experience, all of us are going to need some psychiatric help. That is a given."

"Yeah, so will you do this one thing?" Amanda smiled gently.

Pietro sighed. "Fine. I-guess. I-don't-have-anything-else-to-do-anyway."

"Oh thank you so much!" Amanda grinned. Pietro frowned suddenly.

"Don't-mention-it. Really. I-don't-want-it-to-look-like-I'm-going-soft-or-anything. I-DO-have-a-reputation-to-uphold-you-know." He said with a serious look on his face but a twinkle in his eye.

Amanda burst out laughing. "Ok. I get it. This is a one time thing huh?"

"Um-Hm." Pietro nodded. "Don't-tell-a-soul-okay?"

Amanda shook her head and handed the four-year-old's hand to the smirking albino.

As soon as Amanda had left and returned back downstairs, Pietro quickly shoved Remy through the door and closed the child into the bathroom.

"'Ey! No pushin' Remy!" the boy called through the door crossly.

Pietro rolled his eyes and slumped into a chair outside the bathroom door. He impatiently relived the date he had messed up somehow in his head. Just as he was making a solemn vow to never date twins again, his charge called him again.

"Uh...Remy need a li'l 'elp s'il vous plais!." He said urgently. "Can' turn de wateh (water) on!"

"Freaking-Moron-Cajun." Pietro grumbled under his breath. "Why-my-father-even-hired-him-is-beyond-me."

The older boy grumpily threw the door open. The kid was still fully clothed except his shoes and socks. However, he was trying with all the strength and energy in his young body to turn on the faucet. The four-year-old was obviously frustrated by his failure. Suddenly, the knob he was trying took on an eerie, pinkish-orange glow.

"Oh Shi-talking mushrooms!" Pietro gaped. He wasn't even talking too fast. He had caught himself before he swore but his blue eyes had just widened comically. Suddenly his speedy brain and reflexes kicked in. "SOMEBODY-GET-UP-HERE-LIKE-NOW! WE-HAVE-A-FREAKING-SITUATION-HERE! THE KID-CAJUN-STILL-HAS-HIS-POWERS!!!!!!!!!!!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

To the now frantic and panicking Remy, he tried to speak calmly-and failed miserably. "Ok-come-on-kid-just-picture-the-knob-how-it-was-before-it-started-glowing-don't-panic-just-calmly-try-to-imagine-pulling-the-nice-glow-into-your-hand!"

"Talk sloweh (slower)!" The panicky four-year-old cried. "Remy don' unde'stand y' when y' talkin' a bajillion miles a hour!"

Pietro took a deep breath to calm himself. He spoke slow and clear to be sure the kid understood. "Focus on the knob NOT blowing up. Try to pretend you can pull the glow into your hands. Think about how it looks when it isn't exploding."

Remy raised a skeptical eyebrow towards the older teen. "Y' crazy?"

"Just-do-it-LeBeau!" Pietro snapped.

The four-year-old pouted and closed his confused red-and-black-eyes. In a few seconds the knob faded into his small hands. He opened his eyes and appeared dumbstruck.

"What 'appened?" He seemed shocked and terrified, but not nearly so much as Pietro.

Breathing heavily, he stared in shock at the boy who apparently felt he had done something bad as he hung his auburn head in obvious shame.

"Remy sorry" he said in a small voice.

"Just-just-hurry-up-and-get-clean." Pietro said in a voice that came out meaner than he intended.

He stepped outside the door and grumbled. Lance, Piotr, and Wanda all stood there apprehensively. 

"So what were you yelling for?" Piotr asked anxiously.

"It sounded urgent..." Lance trailed off, uncertain at the look on Pietro's face.

"What's wrong?" Wanda asked her twin nervously.

"Gambit-has-his-powers." Pietro said in a voice that was half astonished and half bitter and miserable.

The trio looked at the stressed teen's face for approximately two seconds before breaking into a hybrid of relieved and hilarious laughter.

"You almost had me there, buddy." Lance chortled and grinned, patting Pietro on the back. "That was a good one." He, and Wanda continued laughing, and even Piotr smiled a bit.

Wanda suddenly looked up at the indignant look on her brother's face. She immediately stopped laughing and some mystic twin thing made her realize something. If it had been a joke, he would have been cracking up too and be teasing them about being gullible. He would not be standing there looking hurt and indignant and sad. She had never seen him look so earnest in her life.

"Guys," she began quietly. "I don't think he's joking."

"Vat makes you think zat Vanda? (What makes you think that Wanda?)" Piotr cocked his head to the side and he regained his serious composure.

"Call a twin-thing or women's intuition, but I think he's being...honest."

"Honest? Pietro? Wanda you are his twin! You of all people ought to know that Pietro Maximoff and honest do not fit into the same sentence unless you put "is not" between them." Lance raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Wanda studied her brother. His face was crestfallen. She could hardly blame him; his so called "best friend" was sitting there and calling him a liar right in front of him.

"Don't you say that!" She snarled. "You're right, I AM his twin. I can tell when he's being honest!"

"Wanda, its true." Lance sighed. "You may be his sister, but I am his best friend. I know him slightly better than you do since-" He broke off as Pietro made a rapid choking noise and shook his head franticly.

"Since what?!" Wanda asked angrily.

"Since guys talk." Lance finished lamely. "But anyway, I thought you hated him...Why are you defending him?"

"Are you nuts?" Wanda said in a dangerously low voice. "He's my little brother! I have to defend him!"

"I thought you were twins..." Lance said confused.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRR." Wanda growled and rolled her eyes. The room was beginning to glow blue. "We are! But I am 27 minutes older. I feel like I have to protect him! And I may not get along with him but I don't hate him!!!!" She screamed at the older boy.

"Well still, chill out. You need to calm down." Lance looked severely frightened by the fact that the whole room was glowing with fierce blue energy and static.

"Apologize to my brother and I will." Wanda growled angrily.

"What!? Me!? Apologize to him?!" Lance's temper started to rise. "Not happening! Its true! He rarely tells the truth and you know it Wanda Maximoff!" A fierce quake rumbled the room but Wanda was unphased. Things were shaking and blue and it was hard to tell who was in control of the shaking as Wanda was clearly fuming, with her fists clenched.

"Take it back!!" She yelled. "My brother isn't all that bad and YOU know it Lance Alvers! You are his freaking best friend! Some friend you are!"

"Sorry Wanda but I have issues trusting a kid who claimed to be my best friend and then betrayed the one's he called his brothers!" Lance sneered. "Or did you forget that tiny detail? Huh? HE BETRAYED US! ME, BLOB, TOAD, AND OF COURSE YOU!"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Wanda screamed. "YOU ARE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!!! HE NEVER DID US ANY HARM!"

Lance's furiously opened mouth suddenly snapped shut. Lance blinked. Pietro was having a coughing fit in which sounded oddly like "coughcoughmemorymodificationcoughcoughdon'ttellher". Lance had completely forgotten about that detail. He realized that she really had no clue as to the validity of his accusation. He felt horrible when he noticed the hurt in her eyes.

"Lets drop this." He said dully, avoiding eye contact with her. He turned instead to Pietro, who looked amused and astonished about the fight. "Are you serious for once Pietro?"

Wanda slowly recovered by taking deep breaths and focusing on happiness and joy. Lance's temper, thankfully didn't ever last long even though it was quite fearsome when it was flared up.

Pietro opened his mouth to respond. But before he got the answer out- "BOOM". A terribly loud noise sounded and the bathroom door blew open with force. Upon quick examination, the bathroom was completely covered in shampoo. Including the four-year-old who stood there, wearing his originally clean clothes, and who was holding the remains of what may at one time have been a bottle of shampoo.

"Remy din't do nuttin'!" The child panicked and dropped the exploded bottle. "It was a at-se-dent!" He pleaded with his eyes.

"Does that answer the question Avalanche?" Pietro sighed. 

Inside the room, the toddler looked scared-no terrified. "Di'n' mean it." He kept repeating. When Lance stepped closer, he bowed his head and refused eye-contact as if he was gonna get a whipping or beating.

"What happened?" Lance asked bewildered as the small boy sniffled another apology.

"Remy jus' picked up de bottle t' put it back on de rack an' it 'sploded. Honest. Dunno how it happened."

Lance said something that really wasn't too four-year-old friendly and then grimaced. "Of all the kids to still have powers it had to be a dangerous one didn't it?" Lance asked nobody visible as he looked skyward.

"Why y' talkin' t' de ceilin'(ceiling)?" Remy asked curiously. "Don' t'ink it'll answer y'."

"Look kid, just...uh...take another bath. I'll go get you some new clean clothes that don't have shampoo all over." Lance shook his head and grumbled. Just what they all needed; another mess and more laundry to get done. Oh the inexpressible joy.

Remy nodded slightly and looked flustered. He turned around and stepped into the bathroom again.

After Lance brought a new set of clothes in for Remy, he and all the other teens met down in the kitchen. They were all severely panicked.

"Do you think its just him?" Amanda asked anxiously.

"With my luck, not a chance." Lance sighed.

"What do we do?" Wanda groaned. "A shampoo bottle is one thing. What if next he charges his clothes or one of the other kids or something?"

"Lets not even think about that." Lance said seriously. "We need to be optimistic."

The phone suddenly rang. Lance dove for it. "Forge? What's up?" 

A moments pause. "No Forge, it is not going okay." Lance said through clamped teeth. "Why? You know how they've been jokingly called "mini-mutants"? Well guess what!" Lance's eyes flashed. "Yes exactly. The little toddlers we have to take care of are FREAKING MUTANTS!"

"What the h-e-double-hockey-sticks do you mean you knew that?!" Lance screamed. "What do I mean? GAMBIT JUST USED HIS POWERS AND CHARGED A BOTTLE OF SHAMPOO! IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME COME ON BY, THE GUYS' BATHROOM IS COVERED IN THE JUNK. COCONUT SHAMPOO! AND NO I WON'T CALM DOWN!" Lance growled into the phone.

"Lance chill" Pietro interfered.

Lance took a soothing breath. "Do you know what could have toddlers with mutant powers Forge?" Lance asked in exaggerated calm. "I thought they didn't hit till puberty did..."

Lance put Forge on speaker phone so everyone could hear the answer. 

"Well, it isn't necessarily puberty that triggers the mutation. Its actually a high stress situation that does it. Usually they say puberty because it is generally the first major stress a person goes through. But it is possible in the case of the test subjects, the procedure of forcing their bodies backwards fifteen years should have removed their powers but the stress may have re-established their manifestation." Forge obviously knew what he was talking about but it was mostly lost on the ears of the teens in the room. They all released a simultaneous groan.

"This-has-got-to-be-one-of-the-worst-days-of-my-entire-miserable-life!" Pietro grumbled. "First-the-de-aging-thing-then-the-shopping-spree-then-my-dates-got-messed-up. Then-the-rotten-brats-have-powers. This-has-got-to-be-second-only-to-the-day-father-took-Wanda-and-OOPS!" He said breaking his rant short. Wanda gave him a confused look and Pietro pleaded with Lance to bail him out.

"Will you shut up about the wrecked dates?" Lance asked grumpily. "You aren't the only one. For those of us who are lucky to get any dates on a Saturday night, one date is special. And guess what? My date which would have been the highlight of my week, is now ruined and do you know why? The girl I would be on said date with is two years old. Making me seventeen years older than her as opposed to the two I would be if she was her proper age."

Lance scowled miserably. He felt he never should have let Kitty vollunteer. Looking back he felt like he should have stopped them all but especially his beloved Kitty. He had no clue how he would feel or react if it turned out this was permanent. For a brief moment he pondered how it would be if Pietro had gone back instead. 

He was so unfocused, that he completely missed what Forge was saying. Until something major clicked.

"Whoa! Back up Forge! What did you just say?" Lance asked excitedly. But he didn't want to falsely boost his hopes in the event that he had just done some wishful thinking.

"Oh, I said I have a 95% accurate idea of what went wrong." Forge repeated proudly.

Lance beamed. "So what is it? How long will it take to fix?"

The group could practically hear Forge raise his eyebrow. "You are asking me to explain the schematics of an invention that some of the best inventors and scientists would not comprehend? No offense meant, but I doubt any of you would be able to stand listening to it without being reduced to a meaningless babble."

"Fine." Lance nodded. "You are probably right. So when can you fix it?"

There was a heavy silence for a nerve-wracking two minutes and thirty-four seconds. "...That's the thing. You see, its one of those things. I could have it in a minimum of two or three days...or it may take weeks or even months." There was another hesitant pause. "...There is also the chance that it could take years.......or even.....never......And of course the 5% chance still exists that I have the wrong idea all together...." Forge's voice was lace with sympathy. "Look, my advice is to seriously go talk to Xavier. It would help a little bit."

"Could everybody stop telling me that?" Lance rolled his eyes like an angry child. "We can deal with this." All around the room, people gave Lance pitying looks. Many of them sighed. The boy was being way too stubborn.

Forge sighed too. "Okay fine maybe later. But in the mean time, take care of them, will you? They are just little kids. Their needs have to come before dates or skateboarding or shopping and everything." At these words, Pietro, Evan, and Jubilee glared at the phone.

Lance rolled his eyes and sighed reluctantly. "I know that Forge. Get working on the cure please? Bye." With that Lance hang up the phone.

The other teens in the room looked depressed. "What's wrong? That was good news!" Lance was exasperated.

Some of the others looked at him like he was an idiot. "Um-hello-Alvers! Anybody-home?" Pietro sped up to his best friend and knocked lightly on the older boy's head. "This-whole-thing-could-be-permanent! We-could-have-the-brats-for-the-rest-of-their-natural-lives-unless-parents-want-to-re-raise-babies. And-I'm-pretty-sure-that-once-is-enough-if-they're-anything-like-how-they-are-with-us-with-their-parents."

It hit Lance pretty hard. He was the only one who could see the silver lining of this cloud. The 95% had previously been for this mess being permanent. 

"And what about the kids who don't even have families to go back to?" Amanda looked sad. "Like Rogue, and Toad, and Scott, and Tabitha? We can't just abandon them. They are all pretty much runaways or orphans. And Tabitha is in the care of Child Services."

"Do not forget Gambit and Pyro." Colossus spoke gently, in a deep, yet sad voice. "They were both disowned from their families. The families would not want them back in their lives if the two of them were found dying on the side of the road."

"Oh, how sad!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Vell, it vas not too bad on them since Remy vas sixteen and John vas fourteen. They had the vorld at their feet and then Magneto contacted them." Colossus smiled ruefully.

"I, like, really think that we should call Xavier." Jubilee piped up. "He is reasonable. We can, like, explain what really happened. He'll understand. And he can help us."

"No!" Lance pleaded. "The professor left me in charge. I should be able to handle this, they're only toddlers!"

"Lance, you're doing your best, we all know that. But there is a reason you aren't a parent. Especially of twelve toddlers." Wanda said tentatively. "None of us are really ready to be parents yet. Especially of twelve mutant toddlers. This may come as a shock to the system, but right now, you are the only legal adult besides Sam. The rest of us are still reliant on our guardians and...parents. We still need to be taken care of."

While the group downstairs was arguing, Remy had gotten cleaned up. He dressed himself and the only problem he had was that he put his new black sweatshirt with a Dragon Ball Z (I don't own that either.) logo on backwards but once that was fixed he was fine.

He walked out proudly. He had proven that he could clean himself up. He didn't need any help at all. He hurried down stairs and waited by the pen for one of the big kids to let him back in. 

Rogue smiled at him and told him to come on in so they could play. He grinned back and looked desperately to the kitchen. He shrugged and his friend pouted.

Remy thought hard for a moment. Then he remembered that he was part of the thieves' guild. He decided to climb the fence. He knew Tabitha was shaking the bars but he was pretty confident that he could make it. So he started climbing.

Back in the kitchen, Lance was weakened to the point of surrender. "Fine. I guess I can call but I am going to make it perfectly clear that it is not my fault." 

Just as the boy hesitantly reached for the phone, a blood curdling scream echoed through the kitchen from the rec-room...

:):):):):):)):):):):)

So what did you think? Let me know because the Ninja-like Swedish monkeys are in need of their pay. So review and make them happy monkeys! Oh and I have this awesome quote!

We can learn a lot from crayons;

Some are sharp...

And some are dull...

Some have weird names...

And all are different colors...

But they all have to live in the same box.

What do you think? Isn't that so awesome...and true? My Ag Secretary Ms. Hazel put that up in our hallway. And I was all, like, whoa! I love that! So I thought I would be nice and share it with all of you. So this times question is...

Is Chicken of the sea tuna fish or chicken?

No seriously the X-men question is... Why does Rogue hate cats so much but her best friend is **_Kitty_**? (Hee-hee :) ) Seriously though, why does Rogue hate cats?


	10. TO THE DOCTOR WE GO!

Hi. So much has been going on lately! I am so glad to see all of you lovely peoples again!

Ok, so we have a few things to talk about. # 1: Thank you everybody who reviewed!

crazyspaceystracey- Glad to hear you like it. Yeah, you do have to feel bad for Remy. He was scared and with good reason. I mean he just blew up a shampoo bottle. I'm a teenager and I would be seriously creeped out if I did that. And he's only four! Oh and Congratulations! You were reviewer # 75! Hands over gold trophy and grins Thanks for reviewing!

SperryDee- Glad to hear it rules. Thanks.

Misa1124- I am so sorry I messed up your name! But at least it was close right? :}Glad to hear you like it. I am also glad you like the length. Yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger. I know it was evil of me but I wanted to try my hand at it. Thank you for reviewing!

snowee- Glad you like it. Thank you. The mini-mutants are so fun to write so cute. Thank you for reviewing!

ishandahalf- I like coconut shampoo too. I am glad you like it. Thank you for reviewing!

xmengirlzrule- Yep it was intense wasn't it? I love your concern for Remy. Thank you for reviewing!

Girl Number 1- Glad to hear you love it. Thank you. I am glad the cuteness level is appreciated. As for your danger room simulation idea...jaw drops and stares incredulous ARE YOU READING MY MIND??! Ha I know how to prevent this! Places Magneto-like helmet on head Cool! Now mind-readers can't read my thoughts and I look dorky all at once! And to be sure nobody else has premonitions...hides raw manuscript in safe and buries key in the heap of my sisters' junk under my bed Seriously yeah I have some interesting thoughts on that. You will have to wait and see. Thank you so much. I am pleased that you think it couldn't be better grins . Glad you like the crayon quote. I love it. And sorry for the suspense. I thought I should try my hand at a major cliffhanger as a test run. Thanks for reviewing!

Boston Girl- Little kids are always amusing. Glad you found so much memorable stuff. It is funny how some of the characters are so real isn't it? And yet others, I try I really do but they just sort of exist there you know? Rahne, Jubilee, Roberto, Sam, and Ray are just kind of there. Thanks for reviewing!

whiterose934- Yes, the cookie was great. And the monkeys are loving their new buddy. Currently they are off watching movies in my living room until the time their services are required. He is being a great help. He helps with jokes and funny scenes so thanks again! laughs yeah Bad Pietro! Bad! Pietro whimpers and scurries to the corner. He looks at all through his newly acquired set of black eyes Nice one. I am sure he'll learn his lesson this time. sighs And then again...this is Pietro... OOOHHHH!!!!!! BROWNIE!!!!!!!!! YUM! Thanks a bunch! And thanks for reviewing too!

howlerdrode- Glad you like it. Yep. At the risk of sounding braggy, I know I have knowledge of kid bath-time. Younger-sibs= plenty of experience in every sitch y'all can imagine. Hmm, that could be why Rogue hates cats; they are not joyful animals when bathed. As to why the little girls are being called terrorists, consider which girl(s) are being called that and which person( people) are calling them that and why. I believe the answer lies amongst that information. Looks at Pietro who cowers and pleads for mercy Yeah, he'll probably learn his lesson. Alix was devastated by his five-timing ways and is now slightly perturbed at me for allowing that. But, such is life when you love a bad boy I guess. I guess I would have to ask Jessica Simpson about the chicken of the sea thing wouldn't I? He he. I do not like Evan. At all. Yes I see him as a spoilt brat but he isn't as bad as Jean. Very few people are that bad...Well Pietro is but it is not really his fault is it? Look at his father. Yes, there is always hope...but don't hold your breath on it for Evan. If he doesn't get his rear into gear and become part of the story soon, its back to the sewers he goes. About Forge, you'll have to see...

wanda the tiger- Ok. Glad to hear you are alive. Glad you love this story. Thank you for reviewing.

Lady Farevay- OOOHHHH! This is one of your fave's?!?!?!??!?!? I'm so glad to hear that. Thank you! But I am sorry you had to remove other stories so mine could have that place. Isn't it sad how the site won't let you have too many favorites? Thanks for the applause on "my" Lance. You are right he has become the male lead-well at least the teenaged male lead anyway. I think the role suits him well. Glad you like Wanda too. I definately like her in the unconscious maternal role. But she was cool before too with out a doubt. ACK! Another mind reader! I mean-keep an excellent hold on your theory...I think its cute that all skill and common sense that thieves usually pride themselves on escaped the poor sweet four-year-old prince of thieves at the leash prospect. So I am glad that made you happy. I'm glad I changed your mind about the "Sprogs"...I think....But seriously not ALL little kids are devils spawned in heck itself. Remy and Rogue are my favorite babies too. My heart went out for Remy after the incident with the exploding shampoo. I would have been terrified too. I mean, put yourself in a four-year-old's tiny shoes and picture how you would react... I agree. Rogue does make an adorable tom-boy doesn't she? Glad you like the chapter. Thank you for reviewing.

Girl number 1- How in the name of Pietro are you reviewing twice per chapter?! I have tried and never succeeded...Ok. Don't worry my OC's still are on anti-Mary-sue meds. I am glad you like the story so much. If you are avoiding the sugar, you might need some special calming down time after reading my story. Anywhoozles, I am avoiding too much sugar too. But that does not mean that I won't write it...wink. I feel your pain at the computer problem thing. Mine is being over-obnoxious lately too. But your problem seems dreadful...Hope it gets fixed for you soon... And thanks for reviewing-again!

The Big Red Machine- Okay. Here is more. Glad you like it. Thank you for reviewing.

Disclaimer: Okay I have a few questions for you people.

1}Is the earth flat?

2}Do Kangaroos plan on taking over the world in a nazi-esque fashion?

3}Are Santa-Clause, the tooth-fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Cupid planning on world domination by using purple toothpaste as a weapon of mass destruction?

4}Does Pietro have Weasley red hair?

5}Is Jean a Gothic vampire who is absolutely Rogue's best friend in the whole world?

6}Is Rogue's favorite color pink?

7}Has team rocket ever permanently defeated Ash? (Go ask a Pokéfan if you are clueless)

8}Is high school the most favorite place for any teenager to spend a perfectly beautiful day?

9}Did the Animorphs end on a happily-ever-after note?

10}Does Heartsyhawk own X-men Evolution or any other businesses, product, or

company mentioned in **Back in Diapers**?

Please note: If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions

A] In your review please submit the following data;

-your name

-your doctor's name

-the medication you are on

-when the dosage of said medication ran out

-the color of the sky in your world (optional)

B] Heartsyhawk will gladly contact your doctor for

you so they are aware that you need a medication

refill.

C] If necessary, reservations at the brilliant and

and friendly facilities will be made for a brief

vacation (or a lengthy one if need be) where you

will given the luxuries of what is affectionately

called the 'hug-your-self-jacket'. Also, the

company is always entertainin_g _and to top it off,

the rooms are accented with rubber wall panels so

you can bounce safely.

:::::::::::

****

Last time on X-men Evolution: Lance answers the phone and Forge sounds grim "...I have some...uh...very bad news...this may be a permanent thing...I guess you'll just have to get used to having little kids around..." Rogue looks at a bowl, disgusted "Ah don' like Sketti-o's."Lance looks skyward "Why me?" "Guys I think that these little cretins are all in need of a B-A-T-H." "Monica was three nights ago. Tonight's date is Mina." Lance dragging Pyro and Blob to take their baths "_NO BATH!" He sobbed. "Please NOOOOO! I'm gonna die! The wateh (water) gonna kill Johnny! Noooooooo!" Wanda dripping wet "The little brat bit me!...And you two think this is funny don't you?" Pietro furiously slams door open "You'd think that just because you mess up a girl's name she would forgive you, but no! Of course not for me!" "Weren't you supposed to have four dates tonight?" Scott runs in "Eban (Evan) said a bad word in front of me and the brat with scary eyes...he said...the word that rhymes with duck." Remy runs into the corner of the wall "Look Sefton, after this experience, we are all going to need psychiatric help...""Freaking-moron-Cajun...THE-KID-CAJUN-STILL-HAS-HIS-POWERS!!!!!!!!!!" "Focus on the knob NOT blowing up!" BOOM! The bathroom door opens to reveal Remy and a blown up bottle of shampoo "Remy di'n' do nuttin'!" A blood-curdling scream echoes from the rec-room_

So how was the cliff hanger? On with the story.

At the sound of the horrible scream, all of the teens got into the rec-room at Pietro worthy speed. When they were in the room, they all took in a unanimous gasp. The sight they were greeted with was not a very pleasant one. A certain four year old was sitting on the floor, clutching his left arm which was twisted unnaturally. He was screaming, tears and pain expressed in his terrified red-and-black eyes.

"Sweet mother of Multiple..." Lance looked nauseas. He knelt down beside the child sized Cajun. "Oh God, what happened to him?" Lance looked at the others.

Rogue looked furious at the prospect of being penned. So she scaled the fence of the pen and hurried over to her friend.

"Whatsa mattah (what is the matter) with Remy?" She asked. She saw his arm and her eyes bulged. "Whoa, that don' look too good. Yah okay Remy?"

Remy noticed her standing there and instantly tried to silence his howling. "O-O-O-Ow!" He whined. " 'm o-o-kay Marie." He smiled through the tears. She raised an eyebrow.

"Yah lahin' (lying)! Yah hut (you're hurt)!" Remy's face fell as he continued whimpering pitifully as he tried not to cry in front the girl. He was fighting a loosing battle because he obviously was in severe pain. Lance was amazed at the self control of his emotions. The kid was only four and he was doing a darned good job at fighting away the tears. Lance could tell that the arm was seriously messed up but the kid was sucking in his sobs instead of crying loud and hard like most kids would in that situation.

"Marie, what happened?" Lance asked the girl in forced calm.

The three-year-old looked at her friend with pity in her eyes. Then she turned back to Lance. "He was cwimin' (Climbing) in ta pway with meh and she shooked the fence!" Rogue turned to Tabitha and pointed dramatically. Malice and anger was evident in her small and dangerously narrowed green eyes.

"Not Tabby's fawt (fault)!" The two year old blond stuck out her tongue.

"Is too!" Rogue frowned. "You shakeded the fence an' Remy falled off it an' his ahm (arm) went crunch!"

"Nuh-uh! You the one who tode (told) him to come pway (play) Mawie (Marie)!" The two girls stood at each others faces, separated by the play-pen wall.

"You don' scare me." Tabitha informed her spitefully.

"Well Ah don' care 'bout scarin' yah ( about scaring you). But you hut (hurt) Remy so be gwad Ah didn' hut (hurt) yah."

Wanda gently lifted Rogue away from the pen walls and tried to calm her down.

"Ok, Marie, Tabby shook the fence. So then what happened?"

The little girl gave up her struggling to escape. "Well right afteh (after) he fawed (falled=fell), there was a creepy crunch sound like when yah step on a Cheetoh an' smush (smash/ mush) it inteh the flo' (into the floor). On'y it was a bazillion tahmes (times) loudeh (louder) than that. An' then he stahted crahin' (started crying) an' y'all came in. Is he gonna be awrahght (alright)?" She asked worried.

Wanda set her down and she hurried to Remy's side. Remy sniffled in pain. "Naht crahin'! (not crying)! Remy jus' gots somet'in' in 'is eyes! But Remy's arm does hurt a real lot." He whimpered and his friend looked impressed but still nervous.

"What should we do?" Amanda wondered. "He needs a doctor. But is it worth it to try and bring him to the hospital? Will they help a mutant? And its obvious he is because of his eyes..."

Lance grimaced. "I don't think we have any other choice. And his eyes...he has an image inducer somewhere upstairs in his room that will take care of that. Lets not panic. He's hurt and the longer we delay getting him help the worse it will be.  
"Yeah, brilliant-plan-Avalanche-but-how-do-we-explain-the-whole-situation-to-the-hospital?" Pietro frowned. Tonight was just not his night.

Lance's face fell. "I guess we could just tell a half truth or something like we did at the Baby's R Us. But what about money and insurance and all that junk that hospitals need? I don't exactly have that kind of stuff laying around."

"We could bill it to Xavier," Amanda said hesitantly. "But I would feel guilty."

"I-don't-really-see-any-other-option-available." Pietro frowned in concentration. He sighed. "It-is-times-like-these-when-I-miss-father-and-his-Swiss-Bank-accounts."

Lance rolled his eyes. "We really need to get him the hospital. That arm should not be bent that way. I'm no expert but that looks seriously wrong and painful."

"Yo' tellin' Remy!" The kid pouted and whimpered a little bit. He shifted his arm and let out a painful howl. The bones had just created some serious friction. "Remy want 'is méré. (mother)"

"Ok. We really have to get him some help." Lance sighed. "Pietro, the only thing I can think of for his eyes is the image inducer he has hidden up in his room somewhere. He stopped wearing it around the house and God only knows what he did with it. Can you quickly go find it?"

Pietro snorted like his friend was an idiot. "Is-Wanda-my-sister? Is-my-hair-white? Can-Xavier-read-minds? Duh!" With that the boy took off up the stairs.

Remy sniffled and sucked in another sob before it could escape. All of the other kids were looking at him fearfully. It wasn't the fact that a boy was crying. They were toddlers and didn't particularly care about that kind of thing. It was more to the point that Rogue's friend was hurt. None of them knew how she would react. All of them seemed quite clearly intent on making her aware that they were not to blame.

Wanda smiled ruefully. At this age, Rogue was clearly a commanding authority. Maybe if she hadn't been so messed up by Mystique she could have been a great leader as she aged. But the more Wanda thought about it, she realized Rogue never had any leadership opportunities. Always Scott and Jean, never the Goth.

"Would y'all cawm (calm) dan (down)?" The little girl grumbled in exasperation. "The on'y one of yah Ah'm mad at is Tatiba (Three-year-old-Rogue version of Tabitha.)."

After that the others just cheered up.

Remy attempted to smirk. But he was obviously loosing the fight in showing his pain because his eyes were watering and his voice wavered when he spoke. "Don't scare dem, Marie. R-R-Remy be awight (alright). De arm just hurts." He winced as he moved it slightly. "A whole lot..." He sniffled.

"What is taking him so long?" Lance stopped pacing as he looked up the stairs Pietro had gone up a few minutes prior.

"Pietro?" Wanda shrugged. "He probably found a mirror in the Cajun's room. We all know Gambit's obsessed with his looks. Not as bad as my brother of course, but heaven forbid one hair be out of place so he doesn't look perfect for his beloved _Chére_." Wanda rolled her eyes.

Evan laughed sarcastically. "Or he got distracted by a shiny object." Many of the teens chuckled.

"Not-funny-Daniels! Not-funny-at-all!" Pietro's voice came from the top of the stairwell. In the next blink of an eye later, an irritated Albino speedster stood in front of them. He was tapping his foot and standing with crossed arms and an agitated expression. "For-your-information, loser, the-Cajun's-room-should-be-declared-a-national-dump! Have-you-ever-been-in-there? It-is-atrocious!"

"Now Pietro, just because we all aren't obsessive-compulsive-bedroom-cleaners like you are..." Wanda joked playfully.

This comment was rewarded with a nasty look. "You-are-my-favorite-person-too-sis." He frowned. "Seriously! You can't find his bed with out a map. He's got playing cards and clothes everywhere. And junk all over the place. And lets not even get started on his walls and dresser." The others sighed.

"Did you find it?" Lance asked breaking Pietro's tangent.

The younger boy nodded and deposited a black digital watch into his friend's outstretched hand.

"You-know-where-that-was?" The seventeen year old (I mentioned earlier that Wanda is 16 but they're twins so they are both seventeen. Evan too sorry for confusion :) ) asked frustrated. "Shoved-inside-the-freaking-base-of-the-stupid-lamp-on-his-night-stand! Who-knows-how-I-found-it?" The boy frowned. "I-tripped-over-that-dumb-staff-of-his-and knocked-the-lamp-over-that's-how!"

"Calm down Pie." Wanda smiled. "His room isn't that bad. You're just a neat freak. Or a klutz." She smiled coyly.

"Whatever. Lets just get this kid to the doctor." Lance gestured to Remy whose whimpering was dangerously on the verge of tears. He figured he might as well save the kid some dignity.

He gently lifted the child off the floor. The poor four-year-old howled piteously. "Owie! Dat hurt!"

"Pietro, get the door." Lance directed as he headed toward the garage door. His friend complied and grabbed Lance's keys to the jeep.

On the way out the door, Marie hurled herself at the boys and almost knocked Lance to the floor. She attached herself to his leg and looked up at him with something akin to sadness in her eyes. " Lemme come too. I wanna go wid (with) yah an' Remy!"

Pietro pried the girl off of his friend. "No-Marie. You-can't-come. You'll-just-get-in-the-way." He said, meaner than he intended.

Unshed crocodile tears filled the big emerald orbs. Her bottom lip trembled with emotion. Pietro grumbled. "Don't-pull-that-with-me-little-missy. It-will-not-work-with-me."

Unfortunately, Lance made the mistake of looking the little girl in the eyes. "No Ro-Marie. I'm sorry." His eyes met hers and he visibly weakened.

"Letter (let her) come wit' us." Remy whined.

"Peez?" She asked with an affectionate smile. "Ah'll be yah fwiend (friend) if yah let meh!" She cried.

"NO! Lance...Do-NOT-let-her-get-to-you!" Pietro warned. "Resist-her! She-is-just-a-little-girl!"

"Peez?" She begged again. "He's mah bes' fwiend (friend). Yah'd go if yah bes' fwiend was hut (hurt)."

"Lance..." Pietro whined.

Rogue pouted sadly. Lance sighed.

"Come on kid. Before I change my mind lets go."

"Weakling." Pietro rolled his eyes.

Rogue happily skipped to the jeep. Lance loaded her into a baby-seat after he buckled Remy into the front.

"You coming?" Lance asked Pietro who nodded and climbed in the back.

Lance started the Jeep and Kitty suddenly started shrieking. "NO GO BYE-BYE!" She cried and tried to escape the confines of the pen. "ME TOO! KITTY COME TOO!" The girl howled and stretched her arms towards the garage.

"Lance...I-know-what-you-are-thinking. And-the-answer-is-NO!" Lance looked at his best friend. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. Grumbling, Pietro quickly went back into the institute.

He was greeted by the smiling two-year-old. "Up pweez!" She said and raised her arms. He grumbled something about stupid friends and lifted her. He was momentarily shocked by how little she weighed. He knew she was petite, but she was unnaturally small. She smiled and cuddled close to him.

Pietro was dumbfounded. How dare this little brat cuddle him? He wasn't a teddy-bear, or a stuffed animal. Nervously he brought her out to the jeep and deposited her into a baby-seat. He was slightly unnerved by the fact that the two-year-old was so clingy. He was in a separate world as he fussed with her buckles and baby-seat belts. He felt perhaps the worst part of this was it did not nauseate him.

When he had finished, he looked up to see Lance smirking. "What?" He snapped irritably.

"Nothing, its just that I can see right through the act."

"I-have-absolutely-no-clue-what-you're-talking-about." Pietro lied arrogantly. Lance shook his head and turned back to the others who were not coming.

"Okay, We'll be back as soon as possible. On the way home, I'll pick up some dinner or something." With that he started driving.

For the first ten minutes of the drive, nothing terribly major happened. The only sounds were the soft music on the radio and Remy's choked crying. He was loosing control by the minute and freely allowing the tears to flow down his face now. But then they hit a pot-hole and the kid-Cajun was forcefully slammed into the dash board. His arm hit and a shrill yelp accompanied by a piercing scream was heard. From that point onward, the crying was uncontrolled. The small swamp-rat was howling in pain and crying and begging for the hurt to stop.

"Remy hurt! I want m' maman (mommy)! Ou mon pére (father)! Ou Angél ou Henri!" He cried. "De pain! Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! I wanna go home!" The sobbing was hard to endure so Lance sped up to get to Bayville General.

Once there, he hurried out and got the child into the emergency room ASAP. He left the keys in the ignition and told Pietro to park. So Pietro parked and hurried the two toddler girls in. In the lobby, Lance was hurriedly filling out the paperwork to the best of his ability.

"Let me see...Name of Patient...Remy LeBeau...Age...Four.....Parent/ Guardian....uh...Lance Alvers I guess. Patient's date of birth....how the heck should I know that? Oh yeah Halloween. So I guess...October 31st 1984-I mean 2000...Insurance information...bill to Charles Xavier....Reason for visit....um...kid fell and arm is freakishly bent and he is screaming bloody murder."

The receptionist smiled as he handed the paper work in. She had a set of head phones on and she nodded for him to take a seat. Fortunately it was a slow day so the only other people in the lobby were mild cases that did not require immediate attention.

Lance took a seat and placed the child in one as well. He was screaming and earning Lance a few suspicious stares from various others in the lobby.

One of the ruder people whispered to the guy who was with her. "That boy is such a lousy parent Brendan. Honestly, teenagers should not be parents ever!"

"Yes Grace, but lets talk out of earshot of the boy. Otherwise it would be cruel." "Brendan" said soothingly.

Pietro snarled under his breath. He sat down next to his friend. Kitty, upon hearing Remy screaming immediately began whimpering dangerously. Her eyes filled with tears and she started crying as well.

"Oh no. Pretty Kitty what's wrong? Don't cry!" Lance immediately tried to comfort the child who was objecting to the lack of attention she was receiving. But once she was held close in Lance's arms she giggled and rested her head on his shoulder while laughing.

"She-is-such-a-spoiled-brat." Pietro frowned.

"Pietro!" Lance reprimanded. "She's two. All two-year-olds want to be the centers of attention. It isn't her fault."

Pietro rolled his eyes. Meanwhile. Rogue had seated herself on the floor by her friend's chair.

"Yah okay Remy?" She asked timidly.

The screaming four-year-old held his breath for a second to stop the screams. His eyes were watery and expressed pain beyond belief. "T'ink Remy be dahin' (dying)." He whimpered solemnly. She gently placed a small, gloved hand on his arm as if to tell him that it would be alright.

However, at the touch, the blood curdling screaming began again and the poor boy was sobbing and crying torrents.

Rogue's eyes instantly filled with tears. "Ah di'n' mean ta hut (hurt) yah..." She started crying herself as her friend continued screaming in unbearable pain. "Honess' (Honest) Remy yah mah bes' fend (friend)! Ah di'n' mean it! Ah, was jus' trahin' (trying) ta comfut (comfort) yah." Tears trickled down her face and she started crying. Not screaming, like Kitty and Remy, but definately crying.

"Oh no!" Lance gently passed Kitty to Pietro and attempted to soothe the two distraught toddlers. "Remy, Roguey, it'll be ok. Shhh. Calm down, please?" He begged. Remy could not help but to cry because of the pain in his left arm. However, he did try to calm down, and he failed miserably.

Rogue on the other hand was reduced to sniffles with the occasional whimper and sob. Lance sighed and gently pulled her into a hug. He wasn't too sure why but he knew Rogue was a fragile soul even with her emotional strong acts. She calmed down slightly at the comfort. He hummed a song he had heard a long time ago until she was completely calm. "Now what's wrong Roguey?" He asked gently.

"Ah hut (hurt) Remy." Came the tortured response. "Its mah fault his ahm (arm) huts (hurts) now. An' now he hates meh. An' yah keep callin' meh Roguey!" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Oh come on, he doesn't hate you. Do you Remy?" He looked up at the bewildered four-year-old who shook his head rapidly through his tears and pained expression. "And it isn't your fault. The whole thing is an accident. You just accidentally touched his arm. He knows you didn't mean to hurt him. So just calm down. And...I will try harder to call you by your real name. I promise."

She looked up and smiled half-heartedly. Pietro was sitting there looking all superior and cocky. His smirk disturbed Lance.

"What?"

"Nothing-Avalanche. Absolutely-nothing-except-for-the-fact-that-someday-you-are-going-to-be-an-awesome-parent. You-just-calmed-Rogue-down-in-record-time-and-nbody-namely-you-was-mortally-wounded."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Shut up Maximoff." The nineteen-year-old was uncomfortably aware of the eyes of everyone in the lobby on him and several surprised expressions on the taming of the toddler.

He was spared the curious glances and imminent questions by a kind-faced nurse who approached the waiting area.

"Um, I'm ready for uh...Reemy LeBoo..."She called uncertainly as she butchered the name on her charts.

Because of the mispronunciation, it took a few moments to register that the four-year-old next to him had just been called. When it did he gathered the flock (which consisted of Pietro who was still holding Kitty with a bewildered expression on his face, and Rogue) as he delicately moved the four-year-old to the front of the waiting room.

"Here we are. And um...you mispronounced the name by the way." Lance informed the nurse politely. "Its Remy. And the last name is LeBeau, not LeBoo," He pronounced the name carefully.

"Oh. I am sorry." The nurse blushed. "I'm terrible with names. This way please." She directed them to a small doctor's office.

"Ok. My name is Lorna Dane. Today is my first day here as a nurse intern so please forgive any mistakes in advance." She smiled apologetically. "And Dr. Shock will be right in to see to you but first I need a few details." She held out another packet of paper work to Lance. Then she turned to write in her clip board. "Okay." She turned to Rogue. "Ok sweetie. You have a pretty name. The papers say you hurt your arm. Can I see it?" Confused, Rogue held out her arm.

"Mah name's pitty(pretty)? But...Ah didn'-"

"Shhh. Your gonna be okay. I can't even see a bruise. Why did you bring her here? She seems fine to me." She turned to Lance.

Suddenly Kitty started to giggle. The nurse turned to her and raised an eyebrow. Pietro, who was still carrying her confusedly, looked totally clueless. He shrugged and shook his head.

"Don't-look-at-me!" He frowned.

"Kitty what is so funny?" Lance asked gently.

"Te (the) nuss (nurse) finks (thinks) see's(she's) Wemy! (Remy)" Kitty grinned and giggled again.

" 'M naht (not) Remy." Rogue pouted indignantly. "Mah name's Marie."

Lance chuckled at her look of indignance and Pietro chortled because somebody else had ticked off the toddler other than him. Kitty was still giggling at the whole thing and even the nurse chuckled at her own mistake.

Remy scowled from the chair he was sitting in. He sniffled and wiped his eyes free from the tears. "Remy be dyin' (dying) in pain an' y'all a (and you all are) laffin' (laughing)!" He whimpered unable to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." The nurse smiled apologetically. She surveyed his arm and inhaled a sharp breath. "Whew. That doesn't look too fun." She frowned. "I'll go get the doctor."

With that, she hurried into the hall. Remy's sniffling grew louder again and he started crying as he accidentally shifted his arm. Rogue started sniffling because she thought that it was her fault again. And of course when Lance started to attempt to soothe the other too, Kitty screwed up her face and wailed miserably. Lance looked about ready to pull his hair out as Remy, Rogue, and Kitty demanded attention. And Pietro added to the frustration by sitting there laughing at his best friend.

All of a sudden, a man in a doctor's uniform entered the room. Immediately, Rogue started trembling and silenced herself and tried to hide behind Remy, who was still screaming his head off at her rapid movements which hurt his arm.

"What seems to be the emergency again? And which of the three is affected?" The doctor asked in infuriating calm.

"Its-the-boy. Remy. The-other-two-are-just-after-attention." Pietro rolled his eyes at the doctor irritably.

"Ok, I know how to handle this." The doctor smiled. He turned to a jar on the counter and withdrew two lollipops. He held out a pink one to Kitty who accepted it gleefully, and a green one to Rogue who smiled hesitantly and took it. But before putting it into her mouth she sniffed it and carefully examined it closely. Clearly, she did not trust the doctor.

"Go on honey." He smiled at her and she scowled in return. Finally she focused on the candy and then looked up at the doctor.

"T'ank yah bu' if Ah git sick, mah mama'll kill yah." She said in an even voice laced with malice.

The doctor smiled and nodded. "Deal."

Lance and Pietro shared an amused glance as she glowered and looked reproachfully at the doctor.

"Hey! What 'bout Remy?!" The four-year-old demanded indignantly, all pain in his arm forgotten momentarily. He pouted and watched the two little girls happily slurping their lollipops, though Rogue was still warily watching the doctor.

"Want ta trah (try) mahne (mine)?" She asked sweetly and held out the lollipop. "Iss abble (apple) favored(flavored). Mah fabrit (favorite) kahn' (kind)."

The four-year-old tilted his head to the side and wrinkled up his nose. "Yuck! Dat's nasty!"

Lance and Pietro rolled their eyes but grinned impishly. They were both prepared to hear some long winded four-year-old speech about how boys and girls couldn't share lollipops or something equally ridiculous. They knew that would be serious black mail if and when the Cajun was returned to normal-or as normal as Remy ever was anyway.

Neither were prepared for his response.

"Remy don' lahke (like) apple. An' no 'fence (offence) but Remy's fabrit (favorite) cowor (color) be rouge (red in French), not green." He flashed her the charming, apologetic smile that was so much stronger when used on a toddler's face.

Rogue sniffed indignantly and frowned. "Fahne (fine)! See if Ah cawe (care)." She stuck her tongue out and he retaliated by repeating the action and making a face.

The doctor smiled, slightly amused. "Okay, Remy, could you please hop up here onto this examination table?" He said gently to the four-year-old.

Remy nodded and somehow climbed up without the use of his injured arm. The doctor gently touched his arm. The howl that erupted from Remy's throat made Lance and Pietro's hair stand on end. The doctor took a sharp step back.

"Why de 'eck (heck) de y'all keep pokin' Remy's ahm fo' (poking Remy's arm for)?! Dat huts! (hurts)." He whined pathetically.

"Okay Remy. I'm Doctor Shock and I am not going to hurt you if I can avoid it." The doctor spoke gently and calmly which earned him an angry pout from the mini-mutant, but Remy nodded anyway.

"Okay, I am going to call the nurse back in. You are doing very well." The doctor left the room briefly and returned with the nurse.

"Lorna I am going to need you to prep a hypo to at least numb the pain. The poor child is in severe pain and it is not going to do to allow him to continue feeling that pain. So I will need you to get the X-Ray machine ready. Can you handle that?" Lorna nodded, and the doctor turned to Remy. "Okay Remy, have you ever had an X-ray before?"

The four-year-old shook his head vigorously. "Non..." Remy did not seem to like where this was going. "Whassa (what's a) S-spray?" He asked nervously.

"Don't worry honey, we are just going to look at your bones." The nurse comforted him.

"What de heck de y' mean look at Remy's bones?" He asked angrily and fearfully. "Y' not cuttin' (cutting) Remy up! Non!"

The nurse laughed. "No silly! The X-Ray will let us look inside your body without opening you up." Remy nodded slightly, still not fully convinced.

The nurse finished preparing the extremely mild dose of pain reliever for Remy and squirted the air and a touch out of the fluid out of the needle. Remy's demonic eyes grew wide and huge.

"What y' t'ink y' doin' wit' dat?" His voice grew higher and shriller in panic. "What in dere? Don' y' come' near Remy wit' dat!" He backed away as much as he could and whimpered as a sharp jolt of pain raced through his arm.

"Remy, it'll be alright. This is just to help you with the pain." The nurse explained gently.

"Remy DON'T like needles! Y' go 'way! Non! Y' can't do dis!" The nurse grabbed his arm firmly yet gently. "Non! NON! DON" WAN" DAT!" He screamed the whole time. His eyes were so shut tight and he was making such a racket he didn't even notice when the nurse pushed the plunger on the needle and released the medicine into his arm. Nor did he notice that he screamed for five whole minutes after the whole thing was done.

He only noticed that it was over after he opened an eye curiously. He had immediately sat right up and been terribly embarrassed. The smiling nurse fixed him up and took his X-rays and kept gently comforting him.

"Just as I figured." The doctor said as he examined the pictures on the monitor. "He must have fallen quite hard."

"How bad is it?" Lance asked nervously.

"His arm is broken in three places, with a small hair-line fracture in a fourth." The doctor looked sympathetically at the young boy who was blinking drowsily from the medicine. But at this news, he bolted straight up.

"Remy broked?" He asked with fear in his eyes.

"Kin yah fix 'im?" Rogue asked, on the verge of tears at the idea.

"Don't worry princess," the doctor smiled. "Your big brother will be fine. Its nothing a cast and sling and some good care won't help."

"Good." Rogue's smile was so innocent and Lance smiled because it looked like she had begun to trust the doctor.

The doctor smiled knowledgeably and turned to the boys as the nurse began wrapping Remy's arm in plaster of Paris.

"Right, then. Now we must discuss a few things. They should have been given before any treatment was administered but at the case of how badly his arm looked, I felt it would be best to get to helping him." The doctor smiled professionally. "Now, I need the name, address, and phone number of the adult who is his legally recognized care taker-a parent most preferably."

Lance gulped and took a deep breath. But before he could respond, the four-year-old beamed and laughed.

"Remy knows dat stuff! Papa tol' Remy!" The doctor looked expectantly at the child. Then turned to Lance.

"And you say he is four years old? He already knows that information?" The doctor looked impressed. "Go on Remy."

"Ok. Remy lives wit' 'is famille (family) at 16 Rue Saint Michelle, N'awlins (New Orleans), Leesiana (Louisiana) 19453. **§§ IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE: THIS IS A RANDOM ADDRESS THAT IS ENTIRELY MADE UP! IF IT ACTUALLY EXISTS, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GET IN CONTACT WITH THE RESIDENTS AS THEY ARE NOT THE THIEVES GUILD MEMBERS! §§ **An' de number be 150-105-8456. **§§ SEE PREVIOUS NOTE AND APPLY IT TO THE PHONE NUMBER §§ **But m' papa said dat Remy not opposed ta (supposed to) gib (give) dat te nobody un'ess iss a mergency (unless its an emergency)." The four-year-old smiled in pride. Everybody present was impressed, except for Kitty who had fallen asleep on a chair.

"Ok, Very good." The doctor took note of this while clearly impressed. "Now what is your Papa's name?"

Lance found it curious that the man was asking this from the four-year-old but he remained silent.

"M' pére's name be Jean-Luc LeBeau." Remy said this name while displaying the utmost pride. Pietro frowned. Somehow that jogged his memory of something he had been told a long time ago.

"Ok kiddo." The doctor looked curiously at Lance. "You don't have a Cajun accent son. And forgive me for saying this but you look too young to be his father, and you don't even look remotely like him. So why are you the one who brought him to the doctor and what, if you don't mind my asking, are you doing up North?"

Lance swallowed hard. "Well, he's my...uh...step-brother. Um...my mother remarried and the pip-squeak was part of the package." Lance shrugged as he lied quickly. Judging by the way the doctor frowned slightly and nodded, Lance could tell he was believed.

"And anyway, I was um...giving my mother and Jean-Luc a vacation from the kid so I came up here to stay with a friend up here in New York for the summer." Lance's voice grew stronger as he continued.

"I see. Yes." The doctor smiled vaguely. "And the little girls?"

"Oh they are my half sisters." Lance smiled. "Kitty and Marie." He pointed to each of them in turn. The doctor smiled and took a note on his paperwork. "Well, am I to presume that you do not have insurance and would like to charge it to your guardians?" The doctor smiled. Lance nodded without thinking too much.

"If you want you could bill it Xavier Institute. Address is 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Bayville NY, 12345. (Sorry, don't know NY zip codes but that actually is the real Xavier Institute address.)"

"Xavier Institute for gifted youngsters?" The doctor asked, shocked.

"Uh, yeah. That's where we are all staying." Lance gulped. Pietro rolled his eyes, but prepared mentally for a fight. Or at least several armed security guards "gently escorting them from the premises."

"Well, I suppose I could do that." The doctor smiled thought fully. Pietro's jaw dropped. The doctor's eyebrow raised skeptically. "Does it surprise you that I am not disturbed beyond measure at this news?"

Both of the teenage boys nodded mutely.

"Well, not everybody hates mutants. And I would be a hypocrite to do so." Both boys raised their eyebrows and exchanged a glance. "For heavens sake! My own sister was and my nieces are mutants! And it is a possibility that my own children could be! But I won't mention that to any of my colleagues. With the exception of Lorna." He then turned and exited.

At the phone the doctor is using

_Ring, Riiing, Riiiiiiiiiiing._

The doctor smiled to himself as somebody picked up at the number he called.

" 'Ello. 'Oo is dis?" (who is this). A female teenage voice with a strong accent answered suspiciously.

"Hello, my name is Daniel Shock. I am-"

"Sorry but we ain' interested in whatever y' trahin' (trying) t' sell. An' how did y' git dis number? Iss a private line!"

"Excuse me, but I am not a telemarketer. I am a doctor at Bayville Memorial Hospital's Emergency room in Bayville, New York."

The girl on the other end snorted. "Ah mighta (might have) guessed. We don' give t' charity in New York eit'er. Now please don' eve' use dis number again. Have a nice day."

"No, no, no! I am not asking for charity donations."

"Then who are y'?" The girl practically snarled.

"I have already told you that, young lady. And as to where I got this number, that information is not the biggest issue at hand at the moment." The doctor said politely and professionally. "Now if I may ask you a question, are you any relation to Remy LeBeau?"

The girl inhaled a sharp breath at the name. But she managed to keep her voice level.

"Maybe dis fille knows what y' talkin' 'bout..." She said coolly and any normal person could have taken it for disinterest but after talking to her, the doctor could notice the slight hesitancy to her voice. "Maybe she be related t' 'oo y' talkin' 'bout. But dat depends on 'oo's askin'....and why dey askin." Her voice grew dangerously soft.

"Well, miss, I am afraid that if you are not related to him, or will not cooperate with me, I must ask you to put somebody else on the line. This is doing nothing but waste time. There is an emergency and that should be enough for whomever will tell me what I need to know."

At this, the girl lost her cool. "What 'appened? What wrong? Is 'e 'urt?" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Did Remy give y' dis number monsieur (sir/ mister in French)?" She whispered as if trying to make sure that nobody else heard her.

"Yes, miss. Remy is the one who gave me this number."

The girl sighed nervously. "Alright, it must be an emergency if Remy risked giving out this number fo' y'. Ah'm 'is sister. Please? Is he alright, iss he 'urt ou somet'in'?"

"Yes. I am sorry to say that there was an accident and Remy LeBeau sustained a broken arm. Three separate breaks, and a hair-line fracture."

The girl sighed in relief. "Ah was worried dat it was somet'in' mo' serious, like cancer." She admitted reluctantly. "But Ah always knew dat boy would git int' trouble. Ah guess yah need insurance data an' all dat huh?"

The doctor told her he did and she put him on hold to get the information. When she finished searching her wallet, she came back and sounded flustered.

"Ok, Ah'll give y' dis info on one condition. Y' gotta promise notta (not to) tell m' father. He wouldn' be happy. But y' can use de info an' charge all 'spenses (expenses) to m' bank account. Iss de Bank o' N'awlins (New Orleans). Te git mahne (mine), ask fo' Emil. Tell 'im dat Gretal need de money te help Hansel. He'll unde'stand it." She said in a hushed tone. "An' if 'e don' get dat, tell 'im dat de Angel need t' help de Demon. He shouldn' give y' any trouble. Now if y' give me de address o de hospital, I kin send de insurance data wit' tomorrow mornin's ove'night mail."

"Very well miss." Dr. Shock said. "Your brother is currently residing up here in Bayville as I am sure you know already."

"Oui. Ah knew dat." The girl said as if talking to an idiot. "Twas m' pére who sent him up t' de dude wit' white hair. But Ah don' know de 'zact (exact) address."

"Oh, then, I can give you the address." The doctor gave the address Lance had signed on the paperwork.

"T'ank y' monsieur." The girl said gratefully, and then hung up the phone.

In the Examination Room with Lorna, Lance, Pietro and the three mini-mutants.

"So..uh...what did the doctor mean?" Lance asked conversationally. "You know, when he said to exclude you in not telling everyone we're from the institute."

"Well," Lorna smiled mysteriously. "For one thing he is my uncle. For another, I'm a mutant too."

"Really?" Pietro's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Um-Hm." She nodded.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look so...normal." Pietro said while Lance rolled his eyes at his friends stupidity.

Lorna smiled. "Well, I thought not all mutants could be visibly detected." She grinned and Lance smirked. "But if its any consolation, I was born with wild green hair that matches my eyes."

Pietro quirked an eyebrow. "girl, your hair is brown."

Lorna giggled softly. "Um duh! A nurse can't exactly show up with emerald green hair!"

Lance shook his head as Pietro's mind absorbed this data and an embarrassed flush colored the boy's neck and face.

"Oh." He said. Lance smirked. Pietro Maximoff was speechless; stunned into silence! The black mail possibilities were endless-later at a more appropriate time.

"So, how did this happen to him anyway?" Lorna asked and gestured to the softly whimpering four-year-old as she wrapped the final strip of the cast material around the boy's arm. "I mean, this looks like it must have been a nasty fall."

"Well, he was climbing the wall of his playpen." Lance began. "But another kid was shaking the wall of it. So he slipped and fell." Lance frowned.

"What, did neither of you see this going on?" The girl asked incredulously.

'Ummmm, not...exactly..." Lance frowned as if embarrassed by this fact.

"What? Why wasn't anybody watching him? Don't you know that you are lucky its just a broken arm?" Lorna demanded angrily.

"Well, us older kids were in the kitchen. We thought that-"

"No, clearly the problem is that you didn't think." The girl glared and both boys shied away from her. "And due to your carelessness, a darling little four-year-old got really hurt! Thank God it wasn't one of these two!" Lorna pointed to Rogue who had climbed onto the table and was sitting next to Remy, and Kitty who was curled into a small ball and breathing evenly. "I shudder at the thought of how severe it would be if it was one of these poor sweet little angels." At this comment, Pietro snorted. This earned him a sharp glare. "And you had also better thank your lucky stars that he ONLY hit his arm! It could have been his head for heaven's sake."

"Yes Ma'am." Lance mumbled sheepishly. "We're sorry. But we never thought that that would happen! We only turned our backs for a few minutes."

"Not Remy's fawt (fault) ma'am." Rogue tilted her head to the side and swung her legs back and forth the way kids do when sitting for long. Lorna turned to the little girl with a softened expression.

"Who's fault is it then?" Lorna asked gently.

"Twas Tabita's fawt." The three-year-old glowered. "She shakeded the bahs (bars) on the paypen (playpen). An' made Remy faw (fall) dan (down)."

Lorna's frown faded as she smiled at the stubborn little girl.. Quickly she turned back to Lance. "Fine, I'll let it slide for now. But keep a better eye on these kids Lance Alvers." She said sternly.

Both of the teenage boys nodded dumbly. Rogue was looking at Lorna with newfound respect. She seemed definitely impressed by the girl's ability to silence the boys she had never even met.

"Ok, now Remy, we just have to wait for your cast to dry. Okay?" The little kid nodded but looked fidgety.

"While we're here, maybe one of you could tell me why little Marie seemed so terrified of my uncle-her doctor." Lorna looked quizzically at Lance and then Pietro.

"Actually, we have no real clue why." Lance shrugged. "We've never seen her act so timid as she did back at that moment.

"Marie? Maybe you can answer. Why don't you like the doctor, sweetie?"

Rogues eyes instantly grew wide again. She trembled a little. "Cuz Ah don'!" She answered meekly. "Ah know a bad mean doctah (doctor)." And then the young girl buried her face in her hands.

"Child, what-the-heck-are-you-doing?" Pietro asked in exasperation. He rolled his eyes in obvious irritation.

"M' hahdin' (hiding)" She giggled. "Y'all can' see meh cuz Ah can't see yah."

Lorna and Lance smiled. Pietro had just rolled his eyes with a low mutter of "babies!" The teenaged albino got up into the little girl's face, presumably to tell her the problems with that logic. Suddenly, she opened her eyes really wide and giggled "Peek-a-boo!"

The effect wasn't expected and Pietro slightly jumped in shock. This sent Lorna, Lance and Remy into a laughing fit.

"Not-funny!" He grumbled testily. "Not-funny-at-all."

"That, Pietro, is what you think." Lance grinned. "The look on your face was priceless."

"Okay, lets drop that subject." Lorna chuckled. "My sides hurt from laughing too much. So next question, you guys are mutants right? Soooooo, your powers are...?"

Pietro smirked. He used his super-speed to circle the room three times. When he slowed down, he was holding Lorna's clipboard, the lollipop canister, and the pen that Lorna had stowed in the pocket of her lab jacket.

"Does-that-answer-the-question?" Pietro smirked again.

"Ah, a super-speedster." Lorna nodded. "That's interesting."

When she turned to Lance, he clenched his fists and made the room shake slightly. Just enough to knock a box of tongue depressors to the edge of the cabinet they had been resting. He stopped quickly and held his head gingerly.

"What's wrong?" Lorna asked, startled.

"Well, I don't exactly have 100 % control of my powers." Lance winced. "They tend to give me migraines if I try to control them. And I've never made such a small quake before."

Lorna nodded. "Ah, of course, geo-physical manipulation. You're the first I've met with that gift."

Lance nodded and again rubbed the side of his head. "These three are mutants too." He gestured to Kitty, who was still sleeping curled in the chair, Remy, who was impatiently swinging his legs gently and fidgeting a lot, and Rogue who was now seated on the floor, tying an un-knowing Pietro's shoelaces together.

"Oh?" Lorna raised an eyebrow.

"But, don't take offense but I don't know you well enough to trust with that information."

"What, have their identities not been discovered yet?" Lance nodded and Lorna immediately understood. "Well, we'll just make sure that it stays that way. Life is heck when you're a marked mutant." Lorna smiled ruefully. "Believe me I know."

"Don't we know it." Lance sighed. He ran his hand through his hair while chuckling humorlessly. Then he tilted his head to the side and looked at her. "How'd you get a job if you got discovered?"

Lorna instantly lost all traces of happiness. "Well for one thing, when I became known, I was in Hawaii. Take the name 'Lorna Dane' to Hawaii and you'll get the same response as if you said.... 'Scott Summers' up here in New York." She sighed and looked as if she was a million miles away. "And the hair dye job helped a lot too."

"If you don't mind my asking, how the heck do you know Summers?" Lance's tone held an uncomfortable edge to it.

"Oh EVERYBODY knows Cyclops." Lorna shrugged. "And the fact that his little brother is my boyfriend is just an added plus." The girl smiled again.

"Wait, Summers' brother? Havoc? Alex Masters?" Lance's memory replayed the events that had happened on Asteroid M involving the Summers.

Lorna nodded. "That's why we all came North. Well, at least, my sister and I. Alex will be up in about a week. But we had to start new lives away from where we grew up." The girl sighed wistfully.

Pietro snorted. "So-why-come-to-Bayville? Its-like-the-most-mutant-hostile-place-I-ever-heard-of."

"I have my reasons." Lorna's voice grew a bit distant.

"Such-as?" Pietro butted in.

"Such as the fact that Alex's brother lives up here, nobody knows I am a mutant, and above all, I am on a mission to find the man who is supposedly my father." Lorna snapped coldly.

Pietro rolled his eyes but remained silent. There was an awkward few moments of silence where the only sounds were Kitty's gentle breathing and the dull thud each time Remy's sneakers hit the side of the examination table he was seated on.

"So...what-are-your-powers?" Pietro asked tentatively.

Lorna smiled and shut her eyes. She clenched her fists and focused. The metal objects in the room all rose and floated around in circles over her head. Her metal stethoscope rose and began to listen to Remy's heartbeat as if by its own volition.

Lance's jaw hit the floor and Pietro's eyes were comically huge. "Wha....how...who...why...Aye aye aye."

Lorna looked quizzically at him. "Um what?"

Lance regained his ability to speak. "You can control...metal???" Lance said in a high, squeaky voice that was not his normal one by any stretch of the imagination.

"Yeah...So what?"

Hi its me again. We have a few things to talk about. For one thing I am SO sorry that this has taken so long. I have had about forty million distractions. For one thing, school is ending June 21 and I have huge finals coming up in like two weeks. My grades are hugely important. Another thing is my team placed Fourth in the state so I had to put a lot of work into my Business management team because I am the team captain, and most skilled member as I am the only one who was at every meeting and can do the math without a calculator. So congratulate me and My team members (Alix, Alison, and the infamous Becky) we didn't make nationals but eh who cares. Yet another factor is the whole babysitting thing. The kid who I baby sit for has a mother who's job is unstable and sometimes she is home by 3:30 and sometimes I don't see her until almost 7. After that I have homework and my teachers do not seem to care that this means as much if not more to me as flatworms and soil management. For the most major homework-hand-outer, all of you can thank Ms. Cole. I swear she is out to get me. But I am so proud of myself because I finally did well on one of her insanely strictly graded essays. If Ms. Cole got her way, I would have no free time at all....Anyway also throw in the fact that I am balancing, girl scouts, church, FFA, baby-sitting, and student council to my school work and my family is wondering how I have any free time as it is. But my beloved readers, that is not everything. I still must find a way to eat, sleep, spend time with my family, chill with my friends and mediate problems. Oh and I am currently using a lot of computer time to research colleges. So you can see I am really busy. But I love this story and I won't quit. In the summer a whole lot of the burden will vanish into space time like Apocalypse (supposedly and hopefully) did.

Ok, enough wit' de borin' excuses. Now's de good stuff. Okay. This chapter took twice as long as others because there was a **_HUGE_** plot hole. We are talking ginormous here. It would have twisted the whole story out of proportion worse than Pietro on a sugar high (does that not provide hilarious and disturbingly so scenarios?) And I had a bit of writer's block as to how to fix it but I did.

Next thing to talk about, this chapter was rich with cameos. The doctor I used was originally in one of the episodes of the Rugrats TV show on Nickelodeon. But he is the doctor I use in all my stories so you will see more of him. Remy's little (currently older sister) Angélique played a preview part too. What did you guys think of her? You'll get more of her later. And Lorna Dane is not an OC for the uninformed. She's Polaris and if any of you know her history and picked up the reason behind Pietro's reaction to her powers, keep that in mind as it will be the biggest thing for the sequel. She is an actual Marvel character (nope I don't own her either), but her younger sis is all mine. You won't be introduced to her for a while though if at all in this story. I also spoke of the second Summers brother. He may or may not have a part in this. Let me know what you think. The most votes will decide. I have a few ideas for him but I don't know if I should bring in a character I didn't originally intend to.

Ok next item of business... Its been a while since I did the poem thing hasn't it. Well here is a foreshadowing poem.

Sharing and Caring are lessons to learn

Watch out kid or you'll get a burn!

Remy defends de ladies

and its bedtime for the babies!

Who is the most difficult,

I bet when called they all will bolt.

Pajamas, stories, bedtime snacks;

The older teens' nerves will wrack.

You ask how hard could it be...

Well my friend you soon shall see...

There that should give just enough to tantalize and hold interest.

Which leads me to another thing I wish to discuss. I am really sorry for the delay and hope that I will proceed much faster with the next chapter. I really hope I didn't lose any audience over it. But once I heard something along the lines of "The best things in life are worth waiting for..." So you can tell me if that is true. Heaven knows some authors out there update once every three or four years coughJKRowlingcoughcough and some fanfic authors only update every 6 months so ...eh.

Now it is time for the question of this chapter. Hmmm I need a good one...Oh yes...Why has Rogue's name not been fully revealed? And for the non-X-me one, If there is a reward for the capture of a criminal, and the criminal turns himself in, do they get the reward?

The ninja-like Swedish monkeys would like to take this time to announce that in the almost month, their supply of foodstuffs (reviews) has almost been depleted entirely. They wish to announce that they severely enjoyed the reviews that they were paid from the last installment. They would very much enjoy more reviews so they can continue to fend against writer's block and the lawyers. Right now they have turned their adorable big eyes to you and are pleading for the reviews. (And I personally agree with them.)

Okay. We both know it is there. You see it, I see it, the ninja-like monkeys see it and heck, even the mini-mutants see it! And to quote mon favorite Cajun "Denial ain' jus' a river in Egypt, Chére." So click the pretty button and support the ninja-like Swedish monkeys...

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!_ I bid you adieu until next time!_

! _Bon voyage!_

! _Heartsyhawk_  
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chapter 11 of Back in diapers

posted May 25th, 2004


	11. FIRS' IS DE WORS' SECOND IS DE BESTEST!

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The time has come, this author said, to talk of many things. Like Plot soup and mini-mutants and other crucial things! Greetings my friends! Guess what?! Life has been absolutely superb in the time since I last posted. For one thing...School's out for me!!! Wahooo! Second...I FINALLY got my learners permit so now I can learn to drive! I have been begging for my mom to take me forever! And now I have it! Third, I passed all my classes and my exams! I was so afraid I was going to fail my English and Geometry exams but I passed them and I can't wipe the grin off my face! Fourthishly...I HAVE OVER 100 REVIEWS!!! So in honor of how y'all have made my dream come true, we are going to be having a party. There is cake and ice cream and cookies and soda for ABSOLUTELY everyone! the Swedish ninja-like monkeys chatter happily in the background Oh right, the monkeys are overjoyed that this job has paid so well. And as a surprise, we have a visit from a few old friends today! Give it up for the trained assassin penguins! They are visiting as congratulations for the success.

Disclaimer: _No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks..._Oh wait I'm sorry that doesn't help much here does it? Okay. Does anybody honestly think I own X-men? hello! If I did, Evolution would still be on and season 5 would have started and been into season 6 already. And the pink sock is still AWOL. But according to Disney "_when you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come true..."_ Alas, I don't own that song Disney does. But all that aside...anybody know if tonight's gonna be starry?

And now to my reviewers, the responses to your reviews...

crazyspaceystracey- Yeah, I meant the whole name. But we aren't too sure about Rogue's first name are we? I mean wasn't there some comic where she said something along the lines of "when I was younger people called me Anna"? That doesn't say too much though. My sister was called 'noo noo', 'banana', and 'Allie Burger' when she was little and her name is Alta. And almost everybody called my cousin Kyle but his real name is Michael Charles. Any way, thank you for answering the question. I might be wrong but you never know in the X-men universe...Glad you love the chapter. Yeah, I read the one where Alex declared his love for another woman at his and Lorna's wedding. I didn't really like that so MY Lorna and Havok will be a couple. Muchas tres grande gracias for the review!

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SperryDee- Glad you loved the 'so what'. Yeah, poor Remy oh by the way, he has something to say to you Smiles at 4 year old Remy Right?

Remy: T'ank y' very much fo' de yummy treats. smiles

Anyway, I'm not over-obsessed or anything :) thanks a ton for the review!

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Flaming Fire Goddess- I'm glad you love this story. This made your favorites list? Uber awesome! That makes me happy! Its people like you who help make my day great. I thank you muchly for the review!

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The Big Red Machine- My humble thanks for answering the questions. You have some interesting opinions...Aw, you think I should own X-men Evolution? I'm flattered! The author's joyous thanks are relayed onto you for reviewing.

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xmengirlsrule- Yeah he most likely will. But wouldn't anybody? Yeah poor li'l Rem and Rogue. You'll just have to wait and see. Queen sized thanks for the review!

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UniversalAnimeGirl- Cool name. I hope the overwhelming cuteness is a good thing. I am glad you love it. Yeah it is funny. Rogue's attitude is very funny. I think the image of her threatening the doctor was too cute for words. I stated earlier in the story but incase you missed it, in this story Mystique adopted Rogue when she was two instead of four as Evolution states. Oh she meant it alright. Hm, If I was a doctor and a tiny three-year-old girl was threatening me over a lollipop I would be torn between laughing myself stupid and being petrified. But it would be so cute! Hmm interesting theory, in all honesty I never really thought of that but it might be fun to toy with...Zaladane was Lorna's sister?! I did not know that. Maybe there is and maybe there isn't but I won't be using Zaladane. Oh yeah...It'll get interesting alright...Did I spell Havok wrong? I know how it's spelled but my beast of a computer randomly changes words without my knowledge so I am sorry for the mistake. I honestly didn't know. It's annoying to say the least. Are you a mind reader? You have an awesome theory on Angélique to hang on to. Good theory on Rogue's name. Rogue's getting her own series soon?! Awesome I bet that will answer so much. yeah everyone usually calls Rogue Anna or Marie. I'll laugh myself stupid if it turns out to be something nobody ever would expect like Mildred, or Gertrude, or Beatrice or something like that. Thank you heaps of happiness for the review and theories.

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wandathetiger- Glad you like it even though there is a definite lack of Jonda. Honestly don't give up hope for it but I prolly shouldn'ta told ya that...(Reference to Hagrid in Harry Potter {Which I also don't own})wink Jonda's my favorite Wanda pairing too... And on that note I bid you adieu and thanks for the review!

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une juene fille- I adore the name. Thanks for everything! Your sky sounds awesome! Mine is forest green with silver stars and blue, bronze, red, and gold striped clouds. I am glad you like the story. I hope all my readers have as much fun reading it as I do writing it. Thanks a super mega comic book hero sized heap for reviewing!

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howlerdrode- Glad you thought that was the funniest chapter yet but if I may say so myself it will get funnier. Non, never broke a bone, except for that heel fracture in fifth grade. The pain descriptions and reactions came from two times; the summer Alix broke her right ankle and then two years later broke the left one. I'm glad it was good. Thank you for clearing up the criminal thing for me. Hm, yeah, I guess Evan is distancing himself. I don't think he's gonna stay in for two much longer. I have planned for a way to creatively remove some of the non-important characters as some of them never did have a real point to the plot. Thank you, I will enjoy my summer even though it will be busy.

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whiterose934- announcerish voice Will whiterose934 come on down?! Johnny, tell our great guest why they are here.

Pyro: Well mate, whiterose934 is reviewer number 100 for Heartsyhawk's story

"Back in Diapers"!

Announcer: Well tell our lovely guest just what they've won!

Pyro: Well mate, whiterose934 wins a trophy, a gold medallion, a parade, special happy author cookies and oh my gosh can it be true? The most prestigious award anywhere! One of Heartsyhawk's patented katzillion watt smiles!

Yay! You are number one hundred. That means so much to me! smirks Beating Pietro up is great fun isn't it. But do be careful not to do any permanent damage to the poor guy. His role is gonna get bigger soon. So hands Pietro an icepack and bottle of aspirin You go relax until you are needed. And don't give me that 'I-am-gonna-die-of-boredom' act mister! I just had cable and internet installed in your room! Okay now back to the response...Yeah, I must agree, poor wittle Remy! Wow, yeah it is old. Guess my age is showing but-meh-who cares. I am not too old. Okay not intentionally sounding like an idiot here but which plot hole did you find, I've come across about four that I left as of yet...Yay! Thank you so much for the lollipop. It's my favorite but of course I'll share. Oh and the pie was great too...Not you Pietro! Just go watch TV or something! Sorry, Laughs since you asked so nicely I'll give him a role. It won't be as big as the one in the sequel I've planned but he will have a role. Tears of glee come to my eyes in sincere thanks for your review, you are an inspiration to me and others!

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Pointyearzrule- Hey I am glad you like it. I will be writing more ASAP after my summer plans end.

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Lady Farevay- It would be so awesome if we were allowed as many favorites as we wanted but nonetheless I am glad mine is on your list! Still glad you enjoy "my" Lance. It drives me nuts how there are so many fics where he is the bad guy who is abusive and mean or only into Kitty for ahem flushes slightly...certain reasons...I think he deserves so much more positive limelight! Come on writers! You know you love Lance! There are plenty out there that are awesome where he is just background but Lance definitely needs more good publicity! Lance Lovers Unite! Come on people I can not be the only fan out there who saw 'No Good Deed'! Don't worry, hellion sprog syndrome as I call it is only temporary if the poor dears contract it. But ya gotta admit kidlets are cute. I love li'l Marie too. Your mental picture of her is pretty similar to mine. Glad the length excited you. I aim to please but I am glad the cramps in my hands are not in vain. Not like I'd quit writing even if people didn't like the length...but whatever... glad you like the length. I really love writing it and you might be right about it being the longest chapter **_yet_**. Note the emphasizion on yet...Yeah, ickish memories for me too...Not my own personal breaks but Alix smashed both of her ankles and I blended in some pain from the time I fractured my heel bone and some of my dad's old injuries I've heard about. My heart went out fo' Remy as I wrote it. singing stirring, stirring, the thick plot soup! stirring with wooden spoon that breaks at first stroke Okay that was dumb....stirs with metal spoon and it snaps Uh...examines both broken spoons. I know! on cell phone in hushed tone Yes, Hello? Acme Adamantium supply? I would like to place an order for a spoon...Yes you heard me right and don't dare laugh! Next week? Okay. Bye. grins sheepishly Yeah, you may be right about the plot soup...but I get my new spoon soon so no worries! Thank y' fo' de review!

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Sparkling-illusens- Glad you like it. Rain of gratitude for the review!

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Sparkling-illusens- Ah, I see you found a plot hole...good work! Bountiful thanks for reviewing my story.

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Kaylariana- I am glad you are enjoying this. Yes, those kids seem quite popular.

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Maggie- Yeah, he is brave isn't he? I am glad you like it and sincerely thankful for your review.

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ThessalyD- I am glad you like my story. hatfuls of happiness at your review.

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Allie- That is an...interesting plot bunny. I love the analogy. Glad you love it. I loved getting your review!

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EviltwinAlix- Bout time you reviewed you lousy excuse for a sister! Glad to see you finally got your bum off groundation from internet privileges. Thanks for the congratulations. You know where I was, you turkey brain! Amy invited me to her church retreat in New York remember?! Oh and rumor has it that you know where my pink sock is...Well, I also know where YOUR Evanescence cd is. Mwahaha! Any body smell black mail? Oh and I read your story. You should be ashamed for making me cry! But uber big thanks for the review anyway.

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Carla-P- (response to all eight reviews) First: Who me?! Evil? Nah yah musta mistaken me for my twin sister. EviltwinAlix. She's the evil one in the family. Thank you for all the praise you gave me! Second: I'm glad you like the kissing scene. I am also glad you liked the cat and dogfight with Remy and Rogue. Third: I am glad you like it and I am happy that you enjoy my humorous notes. Fourth: I am glad to have brought out your inner squealer. Its nothing to be ashamed of. Granted I never was much of one but I even squeal while writing this stuff. Fifth: I am glad you are loving it. I honestly love writing it. And I am glad you like the kidlets. Sixth: Don't take this as conceited but I really don't mind the repetitive awws. I appreciate each and every one of them. I am tickled to know you like Remy's reaction of indignation at the baby lead thing. Seventh: Yeah, they are major cute aren't they? Eighth: Hm, I am glad you are all caught up and hope you stay with me for the rest. And thank you uber muchly eight times for the reviews!

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SickmindedSucker- Well, with old Mags you never know how many kids he has, winks well I do but hey, authors gotta have SOME privileges here, right? Its okay that the review wasn't instantaneous because you still took time to review it anyway! Gee, I wonder, how WOULD the professor and Wolverine react to finding out...But you can bet your brain they'd both be peeved off...smirks You'll just have to wait and see now won't you? Thanky fo' Reviewing Back in Diapers!

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Spunkypippy- Interesting name. Glad you love the whole story. I'll keep putting up more as long as I have ideas in my head and readers at the ready. Wait...no, no. I'll keep writing even if I don't have any readers...Thanks a juggernaut sized bucket o'thanks for the review.

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

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Lance's jaw hit the floor and Pietro's eyes were comically huge. "Wha....how...who...why...Aye aye aye."

Lorna looked quizzically at him. "Um what?"

Lance regained his ability to speak. "You can control...metal???" Lance said in a high, squeaky voice that was not his normal one by any stretch of the imagination.

"Yeah...So what?"

Both boys stared at her. They were reasonably shocked. That was the prized power of none other than Magneto! Pietro's father! She was looking for Pietro's father, who she was claiming was also her own father. Pietro blinked and mouthed like a fish out of water. He sat down abruptly. As if one sister wasn't bad enough?!

Lorna backed slowly away from the boys. "The two of you are starting to scare me... Why the heck do you care who my father is? And what's the big deal about my powers?!"

"Do you know...who precisely the mastery of metal power is usually associated with?" Lance breathed heavily.

"Yeah," she frowned. "My...My father. If you could call him that..."

Pietro gulped. "How old are you exactly?"

"I am beyond confused now. But I turned eighteen May 14th." She shrugged.

Pietro's already pale face lost the slight tinge of color it had as he did the math in his head. This girl was almost exactly nine months older than him...so she could be his sister. It made theoretical sense, and logics and the math backed her story.

"I-think-I'm-gonna-be-sick..." He frowned and hurried out of the room.

"Please tell me what's going on?" Lorna pleaded to Lance.

Lance was unable to speak for a few seconds. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Well, uh...you see...I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this, but...we...unfortunately know somebody...with...those...powers..."

Lorna gave him a funny look. "And that makes him nauseas because...?"

Lance paled. "That person....Magneto as we call him....is his father."

Lorna's face grew pale as Pietro's. "Oh my Gosh..." She whispered in an awed tone of voice. "So, if we're talking about the same guy...that makes him...my..."

"Little-brother." Pietro said flatly from the doorway. He reentered, still pale and ill looking. "You're-almost-exactly-nine-months-older-than-me." He said sullenly.

Tears welled up in Lorna's eyes. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Do you know what this means?"

Pietro glared at her. "It-means-that-my-father-cheated-on-his-wife-before-me-and- Wanda-were-even-a-thought. That's-what-it-means-to-me."

Lorna looked as if he had slapped her. "I...I...didn't think about it that way..."

Pietro slumped back down into a chair. "Not-like-it's-hard-to-believe. He-didn't-love-me-and-my-sister-so-why-should-he-love-our-mother?"

Lance saw the misery welling up in the girl's eyes. He felt her pain. He knew what it felt like to find somebody you can relate to as family only to have them want nothing to do with you all too well. "Pietro!" He snapped. "Don't be like that! You're acting like you blame her!"

Pietro sighed. "Yeah...I-guess-I'm-not-handling-it-right-sorry." He cradled his head in his hands. "Its-just-that-well-I-just-found-out-I-have-ANOTHER-sister...Geez-and-I-thought-Wanda-was-enough!"

Lance smiled and shook his head. Lorna looked at Pietro curiously. "Who's Wanda?"

"A creepy homicidal Gothic chick." Pietro said with all manner of seriousness. "Or at least, she WAS homicidal..."

Lorna looked visibly disturbed. "She is his twin sister. And he's exaggerating."

"Pah! Not much!" Pietro snorted. "She did want me and Father killed!"

Lance smiled ruefully. "Too bad nobody let her."

Lorna laughed nervously. "I have a twin little brother and sister? Wow! I thought Ally was bad enough. I can't believe I get two more little siblings!"

"Aw-geez! I-get-TWO-sisters-out-of-this?" Pietro pouted! "This-is-wrong! I-feel out-numbered. Lance-you-are-so-lucky-to-be-an-only-child."

Lance rolled his eyes. "I feel like I am in the middle of a soap opera here."

Lorna smiled. "Yeah, so...Pietro, what is Eric...well, Father, I guess...like? You are so lucky to have grown up with parents."

As soon as this was out of her mouth she regretted it at the look on Pietro's face.

"I-wouldn't-know." He scowled. "On-me-and-Wanda's-ninth-birthday-he- abandoned-both-of-us. Wanda-and-I-were-separated-and-she-was-in-some...hospital, and I-was-ditched-into-some-children's-services-bureau-in-New-York-City." The bitter look on his face spoke volumes of his opinion of this. "What's-he-like? He's-a-horrible-old- man-who-has-world-domination-aspirations-and-is-still-living-in-World-War-II-because- he-thinks-mutants-will-get-the-same-treatment-as-Jews-did-back-then. He-was-a-great- father-until-our-ninth-birthday-when-he-took-us-out-for-ice-cream-and-a-"surprise". That-was-six-months-after-my-mom-died."

"I'm sorry." Lorna whispered. "I didn't think...I was just so happy to have found family..." She hung her head. "This isn't how its supposed to be...I always pictured my family reunion so perfect and happy."

"Don't worry about it." Lance tried to smile encouragingly.

"So...Pietro, if I am nine months older, then you are seventeen...right?"

The albino nodded, frowning slightly. "My-birthday-is-February-fourteenth; Valentines-Day." He smirked at the perfect irony of it all.

Lorna smiled. "That's cool. Look, if you don't want to, you don't have to act like I am your sister. I don't even know if its true and I wouldn't want to throw everything into turmoil on a guess. We should just pretend that this whole issue was a dream or something..."

Pietro nodded while frowning. "There's-thankfully-a-chance-that-this-is-all-just-some-horrible-mix-up-right?"

Lorna smiled ruefully. "Yeah...but you have no idea how much having a real family would mean to me and my sister..."

"Well-if-you-want-you-can-have-Wanda." Pietro smirked. "She-wants-a-real-loving-family-too."

"I'll tell her you said that Pietro." Lance frowned. "You know you are all she has right now. She's your sister and she does love you...God only knows why though."

"Fine-_Dad_." Pietro said mockingly. "I-won't-try-to-get-rid-of-my-twin. You-happy-now?"

"Very." Lance smirked. Lorna giggled slightly.

"You two are hilarious. But anyway, Pietro, until I have actual proof that we could be siblings, one little sister is plenty for me thank you very much."

Pietro sighed in mock exasperation and nodded. Then an odd look crossed his face. He looked nauseas again. "Oh...my...G-d (is that how the Jewish do that or am I crossing religion?) This-cannot-be-happening-to-me! My-life-is-so-screwed-up-now! How-the-heck-could-Father-do-this?"

Again Lorna looked as if she had been smacked. Tears filled her pale green eyes.

"Hey Pietro," Lance snapped. "Don't be such a drama queen."

The result of this was a cold glare from Pietro and a nervous giggle from Lorna. "Shut-your-fat-mouth-Lance. Life-as-I-know-it-has-just-been-dissolved. And-you-have-no-clue-what-its-like!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Whatever, your royal dramatic highness."

Before Pietro could respond, the door opened and the doctor reentered the room. "Thank you Lorna. You are needed upstairs. Please do hurry, the head nurse claimed it was urgent.

Lorna nodded and hurried out.

"Now, I find it imperative to discuss a few issues with you two boys." He frowned slightly. "I reached a young lady at the number young Remy provided. Angélique, she said her name was. Anyhow, she seemed most distraught that her brother was injured. She was slightly hysterical as she ordered me to not inform her father. The debt and insurance money is on the way so you two have nothing to pay. But I am curious to know why you did not call home to tell the family."

Both boys gulped. "Um...We thought it would be better to get him here first." Lance said nervously.

The doctor cocked an eyebrow in suspicion. "Very well. Another matter I found most disturbing was upon examination I noticed several odd bruises on the child. He seems happy enough to rule out abuse, but..." He looked at Lance expectantly.

"Well, he is only four, sir. He's really active and rambunctious and hyper." Lance smiled uneasily.

"What child isn't? But still, a black eye, a split lip, swollen nose, and bruises all over? I think that is a bit much."

Lance frowned. "The kid isn't abused, sir. We would never, ever-"

"Look son, I'm gonna be honest. I don't really think you are hurting him. You care too much about all three of them to be abusive." He gestured to Kitty who was curled up on her chair much like her namesake, fast asleep, and then to the two southern toddlers who were talking about God only knows what. Lance smiled at how sweetly the three were behaving. The doctor smiled as his point was confirmed.

"But, you are still a teenager. And as such, I wonder if you know how to properly care for a group of young children." At Lance's nervous gulp he continued. "I believe that the issue at hand is not one of abuse but of neglect."

Lance's jaw dropped but Pietro responded first. "Listen-to-me-you-pompous-overbearing-idiot! Those-kids-are-anything-but-neglected! We-have-spent-so-much-freaking-effort-with-the-little-weasels-that-it-makes-my-head-spin! And-you-stand-here-saying-that-you-think-were-neglecting-them? Did-you-get-your-PhD-out-of-a-25-cent-machine!?"

The doctor allowed the distressed teenager several moments to calm down. "I fear your temper is not healthy. I am legally obligated to report neglect or abuse of children. Yet, I hesitate."

Rogue and Remy looked over at the non-infants with mild interest.

"D' yah know wass (what's) happ'nin' Remy?" Rogue asked.

"Non, not really." The four-year-old shrugged confusedly. "But Remy t'inks dey be gittin' in trouble fo' somet'in'. Peetro an' Lance look like dey gonna git hitted ou somet'in'."

Rogue grumbled in irritation. "Ah hate it when the growed ups f'git weh (grown ups forget we're) heh (here.)."

She climbed off of the examination table she and her friend were sitting on and moved over to the three who were talking about things she didn't care about. She gently tugged on Lance's pant leg to get his attention.

"Scuze meh (excuse me) but wass goin' on?" She asked slowly. "Y'all a talkin' an' me an' Remy feel lefted out." She pouted and Lance smiled at her.

"I'm sorry Marie. We're just talking about a grown-up thing." He said knowing the response.

"Why?"

"Because...well, because we have to get something settled."

"Like when Mama wants ta talk ta the man at the bank or heh (her) boss at work ta talk 'bout gittin' paid mo'?" She frowned slightly.

"Yes." Lance nodded. "Kinda like that."

"That sounds real borin'." Rogue commented dryly.

"It is." Lance assured her with a smile. "So why don't you and Remy just play a game and Pietro will play with you too. I just have to talk to the doctor."

Rogue nodded happily and grabbed Pietro's hand and before he could protest she skipped over to where Remy was watching with curiosity.

"Okay weh gonna pway a game. Any ideas?" She asked both boys.

"Yeah, the Pietro-isn't-gonna-play-baby-games-with-babies-game." Pietro said sarcastically.

"Nope." Rogue smirked. "Lance said yah would play with us."

Pietro whined some more and then sulked because Rogue won and they were playing with some plastic figurines they had found in a box.

Lance watched this for a few moments with an amused expression but then turned to the doctor seriously. "Sir, I know it looks bad but we aren't abusing or neglecting them. Please believe me when I say that Remy is just an active four-year-old." He pleaded.

The doctor sighed. "I could probably get into serious trouble if I let it go with nothing. I want to trust you, believe me I do but I have seen too many cases where somebody says nothing's wrong but then they turn out to be beating the child."

"Sir, no disrespect meant, but there is no way in God's Earth that I would ever dream of hitting a child. You could come and watch all of us everyday if you want but you would never ever see me harm those children." Lance said in a low tone with narrowed eyes. "I won't disillusion you into thinking I'm guardian of the year award material or anything but these kids are treated extra-ordinarily well."

"Yes, had you or your friend let me finish, you would have heard this. I was going to say that I did not believe it was intentional or anything of the sort. I merely was going to give a warning."

"A warning?" Lance echoed doubtfully.

"Yes." The doctor said calmly. "I wish to tell you that nothing will be done at this time but if any of these children show any further signs investigation via Child Services."

At this Lance paled and gasped. "Ch-Child Services?" He squeaked. "No, not them anybody but them."

Rogue suddenly heard what was being said and she grew paler too. She whimpered and pulled her knees close to her chin.

"Marie? What be de matter?" Remy asked in concern. He looked in panic at Pietro and then Lance. "What be wrong?"

"Holy super-sized bag of pixie-stix!" Pietro was hit by the memory of the fact that Mystique had adopted Rogue through Child Services and the girl had never said anything but he knew what she had gone through because he'd been there once too.

Apparently Lance remembered this too. He hurried over to the little girl who had squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from coming.

"Shh, its okay Marie. We're here. You won't go back. I won't let them get you."

The doctor turned to Pietro for an explanation. "For-you're-information, she-was-adopted-from-child-services." Pietro sneered. "We-aren't-completely-sure-but-we-think-she-had-a-very-tough-time-with-them."

The doctor frowned in shock. "Fine, no child services but DCF will hear from me if I still see signs. So I think I will send over a messenger every week to check your situation out."

Pietro sneered and turned to Rogue. It was definitely unnerving him to see her so pathetic and helpless. He knew what it felt like to have gone through child services uncared for and unwanted. But he had been nine years old and couldn't imagine how hard it would be for a baby which was what the little girl in front of him really was and had been when she was there.

He unconsciously reached out a hand and put it on her back. She looked at him with soulful eyes that were pooling with tears.

"Ah don' wanna go back Peeto." She said softly in a miserable tone that made his heart break. "Don' make meh go." She whimpered.

The doctor smiled in sympathy. "Do not worry child."

Remy stuck his tongue out at the doctor. "Leave her 'lone!" He hugged Marie close and she stopped whimpering to smile at him.

"I give up." The doctor sighed. "Nothing will happen as long as I have no evidence that something bad is happening." He shrugged. "But I had better never see these kids injured again."

"We'll do our best sir." Lance said coldly.

" Now, on a lighter note, we need to talk about how to care for Remy now that he has a cast." The doctor smiled and changed the topic.

Pietro rolled his eyes and took a seat in the chair next to Kitty. He grabbed a copy of Time from the counter and started reading it.

Remy and Rogue climbed back onto the examination table as their involuntary playmate had abandoned them.

"So what d' y' wanna do?" Remy asked, boredom not suppressed.

"Ah dunno. What da yah wanna do?" Rogue asked passively.

"Remy aksed (asked in four-year-old-ese) y' first." He challenged.

"So?" Rogue frowned. "Ah aksed yah second." She retorted.

"So...Y' gotta answer Remy." He said stubbornly.

"First is the wost, an' secon' is the bestest." She said impishly in a singsong tone. "So yah pick what ta do."

"Dats not fair." Remy frowned and Rogue crossed her arms.

"Life ain' fair kid." She gave him a look.

"Fine, Remy'll pick." He frowned. Even as a kid he seemed to hate losing an argument to a girl. "We could play...we could play...Oh I know! We could play like we're esplorers (explorers) in the Amazin' (Amazing = supposed to be Amazon) Brain Fortress (rain forest)." He smiled proudly.

"Kay," the three-year-old smiled at her friend. "How 'bout we find lotsa nanimals an' ginormous askeetos (lots of animals and ginormous mosquitoes) an' stuff like that."

Her friend nodded and they started playing.

"Wow look a efelant (elephant) Remy!" She squealed as they imagined themselves into the heart of the jungle.

"Wow, iss 'mazin' (amazing) Marie." He smiled. "An' look ober dere (over there)! Iss a saber-toofed Tiger! (saber toothed tiger) An' a alligator. An' fumingloes! (flamingoes)! Dis is so cool!"

"Remy, lets not be mean splorers (explorers) tha' hunt an' kill the nanimals, please?" Marie asked with a grin.

"Kay, we could be de kinda splorers dat take de naminals pitchers. (kind of explorers that take the animal's pictures.) That's acuz (because) Remy don' wanna hurt no nanimals ou peebles (animals or people). Its just really bad t' do dat t' dem, ain' it?"

Rogue looked at him with reverence. "Yah realleh (really) are smart." She said in awe. "Ah don' thank (think) anyone should hurt anehthin' (anything). Never, not ever."

"Then we kin be like de people on de Wild T'ornbirdies (Wild Thornberry's a tv show that Nickelodeon studios, not Heartsyhawk, owns.)" He smiled and remembered one of the commercials they had seen.

Rogue smiled and they began taking pictures of all sorts of the animals their crazy toddler imaginations brought to them.

"Oh, Remy git a good shot o' tha' (that) Turtledactar (pterodactyl)! Oh an' the goldfishies an' the monkeys!" Rogue squealed in excitement as she took pictures with her pretend camera.

"Ah! Oh no! We gotta git outta here! Issa killer acramarantula (tarantula with a Harry Potter creature reference for the other Potter people out there wink)" Remy said sounding genuinely frightened.

The two hurried away, up in front of them was a mountain if only they could climb it the giant tarantula couldn't follow. But there was a giant polar bear in their way! It reached down and picked them up and both explorers screamed but as they did, the big mountain turned into an examination table and the bear turned into a rather ticked off seventeen-year-old speed demon.

"Peeto! Don' let the trampala git us!" Rogue clutched his arm.

Around the two, their amazing pretend jungle faded away.

"What-in-the-name-of-Magneto-has-gotten-into-the-two-of-you?" Pietro asked disgusted at the toddlers clinging to his arms in sheer terror.

"Well, we were takin' pitchers of the naminals..." Rogue started sheepishly after releasing Quicksilver's arm with a look of her own disgust. "An' I jus' getted (got) a real good one of the monkeys an' the Painqueens (penguins)!"

"An' den Remy seed (saw) a ginormerous (variant of ginormous) trampala (again tarantula)!" He shuddered.

The doctor and Lance had to laugh at the look on Pietro's face.

"Well, they do seem to be happy, normal, toddlers." The doctor smiled gently.

"Okay-then-if-that-is-normal-behavior-I-don't-want-kids-of-my-own. Not-EVER!" Pietro frowned and rolled his eyes.

Lance rolled his eyes.

Remy huffed indignantly. "There really is a ginormous trampala!" He whimpered.

"Sure there is kid. And Pietro's the toothfairy." Lance smiled.

"Really?" Rogue wrinkled her nose. "He don' look like the one in Mama's storybook. But maybe he'd look better in a blue tutu an' silber (silver) tiara..." She giggled. "Nah, Ah don' eben (even) thank (think) a green tutu would make _him_ look betterer."

Lance quickly turned his laugh into a coughing fit and the doctor hid a smile behind a hand.

Pietro scowled at the little girl. He couldn't think of a comeback that would hurt her enough to be worth it. He vaguely considered calling her a tomboy but this was Rogue, not Pryde so it would probably be taken as a compliment.

He sulked and sat back into the chair. He frowned because his ego was severely bruised by a three-year-old. Then he frowned because frowning would eventually leave frown lines to ruin his perfect face.

"Remy swear dat de tarampala really is here." The little boy pouted. He pointed over to the wall. In the corner, a reasonably small spider had made its web between the wall and the examination table.

Rogue moved over to it. "Aww iss jus' a li'l spider." She cooed. "Iss so cute, ain' it Remy?"

The kid Cajun shook his head franticly. "Non! Iss yucky! An' creepy!" He shuddered and backed away from it.

Rogue shrugged and let it crawl onto her hand. "Ah wanna keep him. Ah'll name him...Esplorer (Explorer)!" She smiled and turned to her friend. "Wanna pet him, Remy?"

The four-year-old's eyes widened in horror. "Non, Remy no wanna pet dat monster! It'll eat Remy!" He backed away further.

"Aw gee Remy," She said soothingly. "He'd neber (never) trah (try) an' eat yah. He's a fiendly (friendly) li'l guy." She approached him.

"NON! Marie, don' y' dare come no closer t' Remy wit' dat t'in'!" He snapped and hurried behind Lance. "Lance, make 'er stop!" He whined.

Rogue followed him. "C'mon, please Remy? Ah'll be yo' bes' friend if yah jus' pet 'im." She pouted and held out her spider.

Remy shuddered and closed his eyes. "Please don' make Remy do it Marie?"

"Remy, Ah swear he won' trah (try) ta eat yah. If he gits humgry (hungry) Ah'll gib (give) him ta Peeto or that li'l brat Jean. Ah promise."

Pietro chuckled from his seat. "This-is-priceless. The-fearless-little-four-year-old-is-terrified-of-spiders!" Then what she had said hit him. "Hey!"

Lance smiled too but approached Rogue. "Marie, you're not being nice to Remy. If he doesn't want to touch...Explorer then you shouldn't make him."

Rogue smiled up at him. "But who wouldn't want ta pet him? He's really cool, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's kinda cool Marie but he scares Remy. How would you feel if Remy was trying to make you touch something you are scared of?"

"Hmph. Ah ain' ascared (scared) of nuttin' though." Rogue tilted her head to the side.

"You and I both know that isn't true Marie." Lance smiled gently. "And I think you owe Remy an apology."

Rogue sighed. "Fine. Remy Ah'm sorry that yah don' like Esplorer. An' Ah'm sorry Ah tried to make yah pet him when he scares yah."

Remy looked at her and smiled. "T'anks but put de t'in' down, s'il vous plais? (please in French)."

"Yes," The doctor said softly. "I think the spider would be happier outside, don't you Marie. He belongs with his family so maybe if you just put him in this jar, I could take him out later."

"But...Ah wanna keep him as a pet!" She frowned.

"Sweetie, spiders don't make good pets for little girls. "The doctor said sympathetically. "Especially when your big brother doesn't like them."

Rogue sighed and said goodbye to the spider and watched ruefully as it was placed into a jar on the table.

"Ok what d' yah wanna do now?" Rogue turned to Remy forgetting completely about the pet she had only had for ten minutes or less.

"Remy don' know, what d' y' wanna do?" Remy smiled.

Rogue surveyed the room. Kitty had woken up and crawled off the chair to play with a small set of blocks from the little toy box. "Wanna play with her?" Rogue asked.

"Non, not really." Remy said hesitantly. "Don' take dis de wrong way but she's kinda a baby. A baby fille. An' blocks are fo' babies. So kin we not play wit' her, if y' don' mind?"

****

"But Ah'm a girl too." She said sadly. "Does that mean yah don' wanna pay (play) wiv (with) meh?"

"Don' be silly. Remy said she a baby fille. Y' not a baby. Y' t'ree! Dats almos' praticy (practically) a growed up!" Remy smiled. "B'sides. Y' not like de ot'er filles (other girls) Remy knows."

"Are yah callin' meh weird?" She demanded sharply.

"Non, jus' diffren'." Remy pulled a face. "Y' don' like Barbies an' dat kinda junk like Kitty an' Belle (**growl! Hiss! Spit! hehe sorry. Lost my cool for a second there...) **an' eferbody (everybody)."

"Yuck! Barbies? Ah don' thank (think) aneh (any) o' dat crud is cool. Ah can't stand that pink an' princess-y stuff." Rogue grimaced.

"Yeah, an' neit'er do boys." Remy smiled then frowned in thought. "Corretion (correction). MOS' boys wouldn' be caught dead playin' wit' dat creepy stuff. Mais dat Scott kid? He creeps Remy out an' Remy wouldn' put it past 'im."

"Ah bet if dat prissy li'l brat Jean tode (told) him ta, he'd pay (play) anehthang (anything) she wanted him ta." Rogue said in a disgusted tone.

"Dat jus' ain' right." Remy frowned. "Boys are s'poset' (supposed to) do what dey want not what their _girlfriend_ wants 'em t'" Remy drawled, saying the word girlfriend like a filthy curse.

"Ewww!" Rogue squealed. "Yah realleh (really) thank (think) theh (they) are boyfend an' grilfend (boyfriend and girlfriend)?"

"Mos' def'n'tly (definitely)." Remy said in a grim voice. "An' dey gross Remy out! Remy can' stand watchin' anot'er boy souping (stooping) so low fo' a fille." He frowned and then looked at Marie. "Um, Remy don' mean no 'fence (offence) t' y'."

"None taken." Rogue nodded. "It makes meh wanna frow up ( throw up). Ah hate that mean Jean. Scott might be kinda cute if he wasn' under de evil witch's spell."

Remy chuckled in amusement. "An' Jean migh' (might) be jolie (pretty in French) if she wasn' such a brat."

The two children laughed at the thought.

"Like dat could eber (ever) happen." Rogue snorted.

"Well, y' neber (never) know. In de movies people change all de time." Remy reasoned. "An' in comic books too."

"Remy, that's called actin'." Rogue rolled her eyes. "Like when guys jump out of helopanes (mixture of helicopter and airplanes to combine the vehicle referenced by toddlers and mini-mutants alike) an' don' git hurt. Or when people kin flah (fly) or read peoples minds an' stuff. An' lahke (like) how some people wear their underwear outside their pants. That ain' how it happens in real life." (heehee! Sorry couldn't resist...)

Remy pondered this and then reluctantly nodded. "Maybe y' right, but wouldn' it be cool if dat stuff was real?"

"Yeah!" Rogue grinned. "But Jean an' Scott ain' neber gonna change. Ah'd bet yah that they'll be this way when their real old too. Like eighteen or nahneteen (nineteen)."

"Wow, dats a long way away." Remy said sagely. "Dats like a kazillion years from now."

"Hm." Rogue nodded. "Yeah."

"So what should we do now?" Remy asked, bored agian.

"Don' know. We could have a starin' contest..." Rogue suggested.

"Kay. No blinking on the count of one...two...t'ree-go!" Both kids stared at eachother.

"Yah gonna lose." Rogue said in a singsong voice.

"Y' wish." Remy said in a challenging voice. "Y' kin keep on dreamin' Marie. Remy neber loses!"

"Sounds like a challenge..." Rogue smirked impishly.

"Hey! Thats-not-right!" Pietro scowled. "That-is-so-my-phrase! She-cannot-use-it! I-forbid-this!"

"Aw shut up Pietro." Lance smiled.

"Why-should-I? You-don't-hear-me-going- 'Don't mess with tha Rogue' or 'Mah poweh is yo' poweh an' Ah kin take more'n one!' Do-you-Lance?"

Lance gave him a look and rolled his eyes and Pietro's mature response was to stick out his tongue.

Meanwhile, Kitty watched Remy and Rogue's staring contest with fascination. She had abandoned her baby toys as her two fellow mini-mutants were much more entertaining.

She clapped and giggled as each Southerner pulled hilarious faces in attempt to make the other person laugh and blink. So far the only one it was working on was Kitty.

Lance, Pietro, and the doctor all watched in amusement as Rogue came close but then rolled her eyes whilst crossing them at the same time. She stuck out her tongue and crinkled her nose. This caused Remy to smile slightly. His eyes were wide and watery. Then Rogue reached out and gently poked his nose with the tip of a gloved finger. He blinked in surprise and Rogue squealed in triumph.

"Ah winned!"

"Non fair! Y' cheated!" Remy frowned. "Y' poked Remy's nose an' y' can' do dat!"

"Oh yeah?" She challenged. "Says who?"

"Says...says...um...says efferbody! (everybody)!" He pouted.

"Nuh-uh! Theh ain' no rules that say Ah can't!" She said superiorly.

"But...But..."

"No buts; no cuts; no coconuts." She shook her head in all seriousness.

"But...Remy ain' neber (never) lost t' nobody at Starin' Contexts (staring contests)! An' Remy ain' neber loss (lost) not'in t' a fille! (girl)!" The look on his face was pricelessly indignant; even more than when he had found out he was supposed to wear a baby leash.

"Well yah jus' did!" Rogue chirped happily.

Remy pouted and looked ready to cry. "Remy hates girls."

Rogue looked at him sourly. "Yah just a so' (sore) loser Remy."

"And-this-is-what-you-called-normal-doctor?" Pietro snorted. "I-really-would-hate-to-see-what-you-call-weird."

"Yes, well, all small children have insane imaginations. Though these two are quite eccentric with theirs. I see untapped potential and way too much energy that needs to be expelled. It would be wise to invest in a constructive channel for that energy."

Lorna the nurse reentered the room. "Yes, I've finished what the head nurse requested. I came to tell you that Aunt Elaine-I mean your wife called to tell you something important and she's on line two." Lorna smiled gently.

"Excuse me please." The doctor said as he stepped out to the lobby. "Lorna will answer any further questions you have and she'll see to it that you are dismissed."

The boys nodded.

"So, what did I miss?" Lorna smiled nervousy. "I heard some shouting and hoped everything's okay."

"Ah it was nothing." Lance shrugged. "So where'd you go?"

"The head nurse's "urgent issue" was just to change the curtains in the room of a patient who becomes rather nasty if his arbitrary demands are not met immediately. And also, the nurse wanted a coffee break so its always call the go-fer." She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Go-fer?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "Er, should I not ask?"

"I'm new so everybody always asks me to run meaningless errands and go-for this and go-for that. Hence the name go-fer."

"Oh. Erm Okay."

Lorna took a brief moment to review the notes her uncle had taken. "Right so we're on care of the child and cast." Lorna nodded. "Okay, well he can't get it wet. And he shouldn't do too much with his arm obviously. Let me see, oh and push the calcium to help his bone repair quickly."

"Okay, no water, no working, lots of milk anything else?" Lance asked.

"Well, I recommend a batch of freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies personally." Lorna smiled.

"What-the-Tampa-Bay-Devil-Rays-will-that-do-for-the-kid's-arm-healing-process?" Pietro frowned. "I-mean-what-on-this-planet-are-cookies-good-for?"

"Duh! To go with the milk!" Lorna smiled. "But seriously, its a scientifically proven fact that chocolate chip cookies are good for everything that ails you. Or at least that is what my boyfriend's foster mother always said."

"I-am-surrounded-by-freaks!" Pietro whined.

"I'll take note of that 'miracle cure' of yours." Lance winked, ignoring Pietro,

"It's always worked for me and my sister." Lorna smiled. "I'd bet my spine that it'll help Remy too." She winked. "Sugar helps all pain." With that she turned to the small metal jar of lollipops and removed three. "Here you guys go." She handed Remy another a red one, Rogue a green one, and Kitty a pink one. "You guys have been such angels." She smiled at the three grinning kids. Then she held out the can to the older boys. "Want one? I know you aren't really little but hey, candy is candy."

"We'll pass, thank you." Lance shook his head. "We have to get home and get dinner."

Lorna nodded. "Understood. Good-bye." She showed them to the door. They exited and headed out to the jeep.

"Okay what do you guys want for dinner?" Lance asked as they walked. "We might as well pick something up." He unlocked the doors and helped Kitty into her baby seat. She cooed and sat peacefully.

Next up was Rogue. She struggled while being locked in. But once the seatbelt clicked she just sat and sulked.

Lance boosted Remy into the jeep and helped him buckle a normal seatbelt.

"Ha ha Marie." He taunted. "Remy don' gotta sit in a baby seat."

She tried to hit him for that comment but the seat restricted her mobility and he easily dodged. "Lance! Whah (why) don' he?"

"Cuz Remy be a big boy." He said triumphantly. "An' y' just a petite fille. (little girl in French).

"Whass (what's) the REAL raison (reason) Lance?" She whined.

"Well-little-obnoxious-and-whiney-Roguey," Pietro smirked. "Maybe-has-something-to-do-with-the-fact-that-he's-a-boy-and-you're-a-girl. And-everyone-knows-boys-are-totally-better-than-girls-any day."

Rogue pouted and tears jumped to her eyes. That comment really hurt and a growed up was telling her it was true so it just had to be.

Lance turned to Pietro in exasperation. But before he could say anything, an unlikely rescuer spared Rogue.

"Y' take dat back! We bot' (both) know dat ain' true at all!" Remy snarled viciously at the shocked teen. "Don' y' lissen (listen) t' dat stupid jerk Marie. He just lyin' t' y'." He gave Pietro a dirty look. "Remy's pére (father in French) tode (told) Remy t' always treat filles like dey be Remy's equals or super-ears! (superiors)." He scowled angrily. "An' tantie (auntie in French) Mattie says dat boys who treat filles (girls in French) bad are jus' vers des terres (worms in you guessed it, French)! Marie, jus' li'ler (littler) den Remy an' she needs t' be in de seat so she be safe. It ain' cuz Remy be betterer den her!"

Pietro seemed thunderstruck. He gaped incredulously at the seriously ticked off Cajun child.

"Did-he-just...What-the...Wow."

Lance smiled because Remy had stunned Pietro to speechlessness but was still bewildered. "Wow." He turned to Pietro. "I bet Rogue and Kitty would have thought that was really sweet. Who knew that he cared so much about Southern chivalry? If the two ladies accompanying us were fifteen years older they'd be squealing about how romantic and sweet and adorable that was."

This broke Pietro's shock enough to allow him to snort. "Yeah, right Lance." He said sarcastically. "Sweet? Romantic? Adorable? Pryde-maybe. But-I don't-even-think- those-words-are-part-of-Rogue's-vocabulary." He raised an eyebrow. "She'd-probably- punch-his-lights out-and-say-she-can-take-care-of-herself. Or-accuse-him-of- being...effeminate." Pietro chuckled at the thought of what would happen if that scene actually played out.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Yeah, now that I think about it..." He smiled. "Can you imagine his reaction if she basically said he cared so much because he was...yeah you know "effeminate" as you put it. Geez, I didn't even know you knew that word."

Pietro frowned at the insult. "Yeah-but-she-can't-really-say-that. This-IS-Gambit-and-just-about-any-body-could-vouch-that-he-is-a-card-carrying-skirt-chaser...Or-at-least-he-used-to-be. Now-he-is-more-of-a-white-hair-stripes-and-creepy-Goth-chaser." He smirked and looked at Marie who had no clue what was going on or who this "Rogue" and this "Gambit" were.

"Who are y'all talkin' 'bout?" She asked curiously.

"Don't worry about it Rogue." Lance said quickly. "But I am still taking requests for dinner..."

"Remy don' want no food till Peeto 'polegizes (Pietro apologizes) t' Marie." The four-year-old crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Lance, I-am-not-going-to-apologize-to-her! Don't-you-dare-give-me-that-look, Lance-Alvers. You-are-not-my-father-I-don't-have-to-obey-you." Pietro frowned.

"Pietro, please?" Lance said in a desperate tone. "That kid will hold a grudge until you just apologize." He sighed. "And none of us get dinner either."

Pietro grimaced. "Fine. Sorry-Ro-I-mean-Marie. I-shouldn't-have-done-it. I'm-a-very-bad-boy-and-I'll-go-straight-to-my-room-when-we-get-home." Pietro rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Good-enough-for-you-Mr.-Women's-Rights?" He asked Remy.

Remy nodded that he was satisfied by the apology and Lance smiled. "Now what should we get for dinner?"

"Well, usully (usually) Tantie Mattie's Saturday (favorite) dinner's blackened catfish wiv (with) cone bread (corn bread) an' coller greems. (collard greens)" Remy said and then paused. "But Remy usully gibs de coller greems t' Henri wit'out nobody knowin' cuz Remy don' like dem much."

"Yeah, that sounds really good." Rogue commented mildly.

"Well..." Lance said thoughtfully. He wasn't about to cook a full Southern dinner as he preferred delivery to his own cooking any day of the week. "I don't know about that guys, but what else do you like?"

The two thought for a moment. "Oooooooooh! Remy knows! Lets have pitza (pizza)!"

Rogue nodded and smiled. Kitty giggled and cooed in her agreement.

"Pizza it is then." Lance smiled. He turned to Pietro. "Should we pick it up or have it delivered?"

"You-think-I-care?" Pietro grumbled. "Lets-just-have-it-delivered. I-want-to-make-sure-the-dates-I-lined-up-for-tomarrow-are-still-on."

Instantly Lance's mood shot down. He mournfully looked into the mirror at the backseat and sighed. "Lets not talk about dating right now." He said dully. "Seeing as mine would've been starting right about now if it wasn't for that lousy, no good, science geek Forge."

Pietro shook his head with a customary eye-roll. "You-know-Avalanche, if-you-really-want-to-go-out, it-wouldn't-kill-you-to-actually-go-out-with-somebody-else-while-Pryde's-literally-a-half-pint-as-Wolverine-calls-her." He looked at his friend as if to say this was such a great compromise.

Lance's jaw dropped. He stared at his friend with horrified shock. "Ever hear of something called loyalty, Pietro?" He asked angrilly.

Pietro nodded. "Yep-but-that's-for-dogs. You-aren't-her-pet-you-know." He gave the older boy an infuriating smirk. "You're-just-her-boyfriend. Not-that-I-can't-picture-you-fetching-her-the-newspaper-and-her-slippers-if-she-asked-you-but-still-you-are-entitled-to-your-share-of-fun."

Lance looked incredulously at Pietro. "How the....do you even...well that explains a lot." He frowned bitterly.

Pietro frowned. "And-that-is-supposed-to-mean?!"

"Your lack of loyalty. To girls; to your friends; to the Brotherhood; your own twin sister. You think loyalty is just for dogs." Lance growled. "It also explains that you acted like something was important and then when Magneto called you deserted it. You're just like a dog chasing a squirrel and then being called by your master."

"That-isn't-true!" Pietro sneered.

"Oh?" Lance growled, reminiscent of Wolverine. "It isn't? Is it? Okay one example. You told Mystique you didn't know what Magneto had planned and then that same exact day you betrayed us all and set us into a trap." Lance's temper was causing the car to rock a little and seriously increasing the earthquake.

"Like-I-had-a-choice!" Pietro snapped. "He-is-my-freaking-father-Avalanche! Not-like-you'd-know-what-that-kind-of-loyalty-is-or-anything-now-would-you? No-you-never-knew-your-father-long-enough-to-have-to-obey-did-you?" The albino sneered.

Lance slammed on the breaks. He opened Pietro's door and roughly shoved him out. "Get out of my car Maximoff." He said coldly. His eyes were narrowed dangerously. " I don't care what happens to you. Get home on your own. I can't stand looking at you right at this moment! You are fast turning into Magneto." With that he slammed the door and took off driving towards the mansion as fast as he could, leaving a thunder struck Pietro on the road side and an earthquake that was probably about a four on the Richter Scale rocking the ground. Kitty was crying softly and Rogue and Remy exchanged edgy glances.

Lance just sighed and pulled into the garage. He helped Kitty and Rogue out of their baby seats and stormed inside with Remy at his heels.

When he entered the lobby, several frantic teens hurried over.

"What took so long? We were worried!" Ray frowned.

"How is Remy?" Colossus asked softly.

"Is it, like, absolutely horrible?" Jubilee piped up.

"Didn't Pietro go with you?" Wanda asked curiously. "Where is he?"

Lance looked to Amanda for support.

"Woah. Easy guys. One at a time. Don't bombard the poor guy before he even is in the door." Lance smiled in gratitude.

"Okay we were gone so long because hospitals take absolutely forever. Remy...well he's alright now."

"What was wrong? He's, like, wearing a cast..." Jubilee pointed out.

Lance gained a grim expression. "Broken arm, three places. Hairline-fracture in another. Cast for six weeks with a recommendation for extra calcium and T.L.C."

"Ouch." Amanda winced. "Poor kid."

"How on earth did ya manage ta pay fo' that bill?" Sam asked with a knitted brow in concern.

"Didn't have to." Lance shrugged. "Remy gave them his home address and somebody there paid in full. And they used their insurance for him too. Look, I know its risky letting his family know but I didn't have any real choice since the stupid doctor asked the kid and not me."

Suddenly Colossus took in a sharp breath. "Did they tell you who they spoke with, Avalanche?"

"Angelica or something like that, why?" Lance asked curiously.

"Angélique?" The Russian asked in concern.

"Yeah, I guess that sounds right but why does it matter?"

"It matters because if anybody else had been spoken to, my comrade (friend in Russian?) would be in grave danger. He...is not exactly on what you would call...speaking terms with his family."

"Like, What?!" Jubilee frowned. "Why not? He's likeable enough."

Piotr nodded ruefully. "Yes, but he was banished from the family."

"Huh? Why?" Amanda asked curiously. "When?"

"It was when he was sixteen. The reason...it is not my place to tell you that."

"Oh come on Colossus!" Sam begged. "Yah got us interested!"

"I would not feel right...telling secrets in front of a child that haven't yet happened to him...And also, though he never directly told me not to tell anybody, I am of the understanding that friend's keep secrets. Please do not force me to further explain." He bowed his head. "Just know that Gambit's family secrets are part of what got him involved involuntarily with Magneto."

"Okay dude. We can respect that I guess." Ray said hesitantly.

"So anyway, where's everyone else? You know, the others and the kids?" Lance asked warily. "We are going to have to keep an eye out for them better. That doctor was starting to get on my case due to bruises and injuries to Remy that he felt were signs of abuse and or neglect." He frowned. "He threatened to call in child services and D.C.F."

A few people gasped slightly. They knew that they had to avoid that at all costs. Not only could they not send the kids into foster families because they already had families, but because in reality they were not the helpless children they appeared. Even if they really were only toddlers, they were still mutants.

"That would, like, not work at all." Jubilee said nervously. She had run away from child services and countless foster homes as a young child before she was adopted. "These kids have real families and they aren't even babies! What if they were put into homes and then the people who took them in discovered their mutant powers or what if the de-age thing wore off?"

"Yeah, Ah can' imagine someone who takes in a cute li'l four year bein' too happy ta suddenly be in custody o' a nahneteen (nineteen) year ol'." Sam smiled gently.

"I do not think Scott or Gambit would be too happy about that. And neither, I must add, would Jean or Rogue. All four of them are legal adults."

"Yeah whatever, so where is everyone?" Lance asked, shifting Kitty's weight in his arms.

"Oh, we found two really good ways of looking after them and keeping them amused." Amanda grinned. "Follow me." She led the way down to the elevator to the basement.

Once down in the basement, they stood before a huge steel door. "The danger room?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "We're keeping the kids in there?"

Amanda nodded. "Its perfect." She looked around embarrassed. "Um, I am not exactly programmed into the computer..."

"Don't worry about it." Jubilee pressed her palm to the scanner and the doors opened.

The small group entered and Lance blinked. "Huh?"

Jubilee giggled. "We, like, had Colossus bring the playpens and beds down so tonight we can all stay down here. You wouldn't believe it but the kids actually want to be here. They think its a space ship or something."

Lance smiled and nodded. "I can see where they got that impression. Its definitely a good place. We can keep an eye on them here alright. And since Wolverine has the safety installations after that Arcade kid played the danger room against a few of us, nothing will happen."

Amanda smiled in satisfaction.

"But I thought you said there were two things?" He questioned her in slight confusion.

"That I did." Amanda smiled and nodded softly. "You see, Lance, there are three things you can count on all kids liking. Or at least this flock of them. Number one: anything that has sugar and can make a mess. Number two: a big shiny metal 'spaceship'; or the Danger Room depending on how you look at it. And Number three..." Amanda stepped to the side.

"Doggie!" Kitty squealed in delight. "Pu' me down, Wance! Peez!" The squirming two year old begged Lance, who smiled and set her down.

The little girl took off toddling at top speed. "C'mon Remy!" Rogue giggled and grabbed his hand as the two of them hurried to see the dog that Amanda had revealed when she moved.

"Rahne, I guess right?" Lance asked.

Amanda nodded. "Somebody remembered that babies love furry cuddly animals. Berserker actually insisted on getting a tarantula." She shuddered. "Needless to say, Majority out ruled him. We were seriously talking about going and adopting a pet until Rahne volunteered her power. Its a pretty cool idea, since it saves money and we don't have to paper train a puppy. And she loves the kids."

"But isn't she a wolf?" Lance asked intrigued. "She won't hurt them will she?"

"Nah, Rahne has control over the instincts. And though she is a wolf, she's just like a big puppy. She says the wolf doesn't mind the attention or the petting. Between you and me, I think she's more like a dog then a wolf."

Lance smirked. "Well, if they are all having fun who am I to call technicalities. She can keep an eye and a nose on them better than anyone."

Rahne heard this and barked her approval. As a young somewhat hyper girl/wolf who rarely ran out of energy she was having a blast playing with little kids of the same energy levels.

Lance shook his head in amusement. "Well at least they all seem happy."

Amanda nodded. "Yeah, anyway, we should probably get these kids some dinner so we can figure out how the whole bedtime thing will work."

"Good idea. The consensus here is for pizza. Will anybody deliver here?"

"Yeah we may be mutants but we are still paying customers." Lance smirked grimly.

"Okay then I'll go order some pizza. I'll just get cheese because I don't know these kids well enough to pick their pizzas."With that she headed upstairs.

"Lance?" Wanda asked quietly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh sure go ahead." Lance said distracted with watching Kitty giggling and petting Rahne, and Rahne looking like this was the most joyful and important thing in the world to her at the moment.

"Have you seen my brother?" She asked softly. "I know he went to the hospital with you but...I haven't seen him and I'm...promise not to ever say I said this...but I am kinda worried about him."

Lance's memory of the argument came back and hit like a ton of bricks. He turned to the girl, who's crystalline blue-greenish eyes were brimming with concern for her brother. Lance felt absolutely terrible. "Um...we kind of had an argument. He made a few off color comments...and I kinda sorta made him get out of my Jeep..." He refused to make eye contact with Wanda.

"What?" She asked, upset. "You just left him somewhere?"

"Well he knows his way home and I figured he'd just speed himself back home." Lance said sheepishly. "I wasn't thinking too clearly. I assumed he'd be back before me and the kids honestly."

Wanda sighed. "What on earth had you so upset? And what did he say?"

Lance looked at her sharply. Two main things had already had his temper on the uneasy mark before the fight. The child services thing and the fact that the nurse could very well be Magneto's daughter. But could he really tell Wanda that? She was still sort of under the impression that her father wasn't as bad as everyone else thought. The shock had nearly crushed Pietro and he knew his father was lousy.

"Its...been a long, tough day." He said ruefully. "First with the de-aging and all this stress and the nurse at the hospital said something that just nearly set me off. I'm sorry Wanda I really just lost my temper. It was wrong to toss Pietro out, but what he said..." He frowned.

Wanda smiled ruefully. "Ah, he'll probably be okay. He probably deserved it, I know that better than anyone. He's probably just sulking because his over large ego is bruised."

"You don't know the half of it." Lance laughed. "Before the argument, Remy of all people gave Pietro a 'how you're supposed to treat girls' lecture. I can't say he was too thrilled."

"Are you serious?" Wanda raised an eyebrow with a soft laugh to accompany it. "Wow, that must have been cute."

"Did you just use the word cute?" Lance nearly fell over in shock. "You?! Wanda whatever your middle name is Maximoff?! I didn't know you knew that word." He gaped and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, so what?" She rolled her eyes again. "Its just a word. And I bet it was cute."

"Alright. This has to be a sign of Apocalypse." Lance said half jokingly.

"Oh shut up!" Wanda laughed and playfully hit his arm. Then she gained a serious air. "No, a real sign would be Grey not being a brat."

The two laughed. "Seriously, she tried to declare that the littler kids had to worship her as their queen."

"You have to be kidding me." Lance smiled.

"Nope. I kid you not. But that ended fast. When little Pyro asked her if he could burn her doll as a sacrifice to her." Wanda smiled and shook her head.

"Thank God." Lance smirked. "Can you imagine how things would be if she was the queen?"

"You want a better laugh?" Wanda raised an eyebrow. "I don't think anyone told her yet, but they nominated Rogue as their queen."

"Now I know you are joking." Lance gaped.

"Of course Grey and Cyclops were not exactly thrilled to be replaced by Rogue and whoever she chooses to be her king." Wanda rolled her eyes as Lance chuckled.

"I'll give you three guesses who she'll pick and your last two don't count."

"Lets see, I think she'll pick her beloved Cajun companion." Wanda said in mock uncertainty.

Lance smiled and nodded out to where the two sat playing tug of war with a rope chain with their new 'pet'.

"Isn't it weird that at three and four years old they are the best of friends but when you add fifteen years they are at each other's throats?" Wanda mused.

Lance smiled ruefully. "They don't really hate each other you know. Or well maybe Rogue hates him but its not for the reasons she gives out.

"Yeah I know. I've suspected for a while that she hates him because she likes him. I guess that when you bring her back past the time where she needed the mental and emotional barriers she doesn't need to hide being so close to him." Wanda shrugged. "Hey, lance, do you think that since she is having a presumably better childhood then her original one, when this whole thing gets sorted out, it might affect her as an eighteen year old?"

"I can only guess Wanda." Lance said lightly. "But who knows? It might just do that."

"How long do you think it will take Forge to fix it?" Wanda asked softly while looking into the direction of Todd and Amara in their walkers and bumping into everything as if they were in bumper cars. Then her gaze shifted to the two year olds all petting and playing with Rahne.

"I don't know Wanda." Lace said gently whilst looking distantly at Kitty who giggled and grinned as Rahne barked in joy at this attention. She had always been the baby along with Jamie but now she was the center of attention. "But I hope its not too long. I don't know what would happen if this really was permanent."

"I don't want to think about that." Wanda shuddered. "It would be so sad. And we'd have to tell all their parents."

"Not all of them." Lance reminded grimly. "Some of them don't have parents to call, like Toad and Blob and Cyclops. (I don't know anything about Toad and Blob's parents except that Blob is from Texas. And Mr. and Mrs. Summers are dead or at least that is what it says in X-men Evolution even if Scott's dad did survive according to the comics.) Some of them have been excommunicated with their families; namely Pyro and Gambit. And Mystique is AWOL. (Absent With Out Leave), so that means that Kurt and Rogue don't have anyone to tell. The only ones with actual parents are Amara, Kitty, Tabby, and Jean. And what would we tell the parents? 'Oh yeah, here's your kid sorry but you have to re-raise them thanks to an accident?' I somehow don't think the Nova Roman royal family, the Prydes, the Greys, or Mrs. Smith would be thrilled do you?"

"No, I wouldn't be either if it was me." Wanda agreed. "But aside from that, if it was permanent what would happen to the other eight kids?"

"I don't know. They'd probably have to be adopted out by somebody else. I bet the professor would do his best to either take them himself, or put them into mutant homes. I could probably be an eligible adopter if it came to that."

"Lance, I really think we should call the professor. Xavier could help. Or at least Beast could." Wanda looked sadly at Lance knowing he wouldn't call. "I know you think we can handle it but we're all just kids, really. Please Lance?"

"Wanda...I can't." Lance said with a haunting emptiness in his eyes. "This is my fault and I have to make sure I help fix it."

"How the heck is this your fault?" Wanda asked incredulously. "Personally I seem to remember it being Forge's goof up with the experiment, not yours."

"No, it is my fault. I could have said no to Forge using them as guinea pigs. I could have said he should demonstrate it for us. I should have not let Kitty or Rogue or Toad or Gambit or any of them volunteer."

"Listen to me, Alvers! And listen good! This whole mess is not your fault. You did not know the thing would go haywire, did you? You could blame Gambit for opening the door, or you could blame Pietro for existing at the time but you aren't. You are blaming you and you didn't do anything wrong at all."

Lance gave Wanda a mild eye roll. "Whatever you say Wanda. But it is still my fault and nothing can change the fact that I could have stopped this whole mess."

"Oh geez," Wanda rolled her eyes. "Let's see...I could have stopped it, my brother could have stopped it, Jamie could have stopped it, any of us could have stopped it! Even the twelve who were the guinea pigs could have stopped it, Lance." Wanda glared. "Quit blaming yourself you had as much control as I did. Or do you blame me too?"

"Huh? Of course not!" Lance frowned indignantly. "It's **_MY_** fault not yours. Why would I blame somebody who had no control over what happened?"

Wanda rolled her eyes and frowned. "That's a case of Toad calling Pietro obnoxious."

Lance opened his mouth ready to retort but then the phone rang.

_Ring, Ring, Ring! Ring, Ring, Riiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggggg!_

Lance shook his head and picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Hello Lance. It's Ororo. How is everything going?"_

Lance paled about seven shades. He covered the mouth piece and whispered in a shocked voice. "It's Storm."

The room fell into an uncomfortable hush.

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Hi! It is me! Heartsyhawk! Let's have a show of hands; who honestly thought I dropped off the face of the earth? I assure you I haven't. First I had camp and then I had a church retreat and I've been babysitting and going crazy trying to fit in typing this alongside my social life. It is a wonder I have found time to sleep. And also the creative process did not cooperate, nor did my computer. I will tell you I had this almost completely typed before I headed to camp but my computer went and caught a virus so the program I was using became corrupt. So I got a new program and retyped it from the very beginning. And my creativity refused to cooperate and let me find a suitable chapter ending point for a long time. I hope the next update will be faster. Summer is fast ending and I want to put more out.

Okay moving on, I accidentally oopsed on last chapter's preview poem; it was for the chapter after this one so sorry for confusion. I hope you guy's like this as much as I do.

Okay now for the question of this update.

If you could have any three super powers, what would you choose and why (no cheating and saying Rogue's power to slip in more than three. Actually no Carol Danvers's power either cuz she has too many.)

Now for the quote of today: Okay new idea I'll give you a quote from an episode and y'all can tell me where its from (only joking its optional)

"Here's a lesson teach, don' mess with the Rogue!"

This is the part where I bid you adieu but first I invite you to have fun in the name of Heartsyhawk's hundred review party.

Okay how was the story? Like it? Hate it? Think the trained assassin penguins should peck me to death? Speak now or forever hold your piece cuz this is the last chance since they only came cuz I got 121 reviews! And remember the monkeys desperately need the reviews! Please review for their sakes!


	12. SUPER HEROES DON'T SLEEP

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"She's into superstition

Black cats and voodoo dolls

I feel a premonition

That girls gonna make me fall"

Twilight Zone music Playing **Welcome one and all to the thirteenth chapter of "Back in Diapers". Thirteen has long been considered a number with...unlucky properties. But we shall choose to ignore that fact as we delve into the world of Heartsyhawk....**

Hey everybody! Wow! This is chapter 13 already. I know for those of you who have been waiting for each chapter it seems like forever but to me it's so hard to believe we're this far already. A few things before we get into the usual routine.

Thing Number 1: I intro'd with the first four lines of "Livin' La Vida Loca" By Ricky Martin, even though I prefer the version on the Shrek 2 Soundtrack by Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderez) (spelling?). I do not own the song. I do not own Ricky Martin. I do not own the twilight zone. I do not own Shrek 2 or Eddie Murphy or Antonio Banderez. Just wanted to clarify that.

Thing Number 2: I am not superstitious. Thirteen is not an unlucky number. Actually I feel the number 4, 368 is unlucky but that is just me. So instead of being all paranoid that this chapter will be horrible or make people lose interest, we are going to have a party of the thirteen! There is music, munchies, and more! We have a pinata (there is prolly sposta be a Spanish accent but imagine it's there cuz I do not know how to do it.) and soda all around (in special 13 ounce cans of course)!

Thing Number 3: A few people have pointed out that Lance has become my lead male and Wanda has taken the role of lead female. This is correct. However, a couple of you contacted me with the curiosity that they might end up together. I assure you that though they are lead, there is not going to be any romantic situations between the two. After all, he's over the moon for Kitty and she well...is still suppressing feelings for who she likes.

Thing Number 4: As I am sure some of you already know, I have a second story running called 24 Hours. I'd appreciate it if you check it out and leave a review. Merci tres beaucoup! (Thanks very much)

Okay and now back to the regularly scheduled program.

Well I have been having a lot of fun. My agenda has been jam packed with uber cool activities such as trips to my aunt and uncle's house, whale watching (that was cool we saw one whale about seven times and he was pretty close.), trips to the beach, swimming, visits to friends' houses, trips to see the grand parents and an uncle and cousin I see every couple years if I am lucky, shopping, and eagerly awaiting the mail man's arrival each day. Recently I purchased all four seasons of X-men Evolution on VCD on EBAY (If you think I own EBAY, I got a lovely tourist site in Blood Moon Bayou for y'-cheap!) and it finally came. Also I cannot wait for my schedule for next year. I want to know my teachers to properly do my research on which ones will clash with my personality. Just kidding. I want to be sure that I got the right classes and I need to know what to buy for school supplies. And that is enough about me.

Shout outs!!!!

xmengirlsrule- I'm glad you like it. Yeah, it does happen. The episode was from "The Turn of the Rogue". Neat power choices.

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Dukect45- It's okay. Glad you still like it. Don't worry, I don't anticipate quitting the writing any time soon.

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SickmindedSucker- Yeah, they do have to be the cutest li'l kids. Nope, you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Lance wants to avoid trouble as much as he can. LOL There will be no queen Jean on this author's watch. Hm, interesting theory about how Lance handles Storm. Now what could make you think that? sheepish grin You'll just have to read on to see if you are right. Congratulations on not crashing. I haven't either.

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howlerdrode- Glad you liked it. Hm, I guess it did flow a bit better. Thank you for noticing. Remy's arachnophobia was cool to play with. I had to give him one childish fear. (Not that I blame him shudders at the thought of a spider) And I can't stop smugly smirking about Remy putting Pietro in his place. Thank you. I will enjoy what is left of my vacation. Oh by the way you are reviewer number 125 so you get a mini parade, a plaque with your name on it and a smilee fridge magnet. Thanks.

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ishandahalf- I loved Remy lecturing Pietro too. I squealed while writing it. Hm, maybe it will; maybe it won't...

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Kieran-Cool name. Irish right? Oh you caught the Alice in Wonderland allusion, huh? Glad somebody did. Chocolate chip cookies are nature's medicine! They cure it all! And its amazing how little kids can forget all about pain when presented with sugar. Yeah, Pietro in a tutu is an image that cracks me up. Glad you liked the chapter.

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Lance Avalanche Alvers- (Or if you prefer to be called The Big Red machine) you have some cool power choices. Hm. I see you know your episodes. Very well. See if you can get the one at the end of this chapter.

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wanda the tiger- I'm flattered that this is your favorite. Awesome power choices.

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Purple Fariy- LOL glad you love it so much.

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X2P3- Interesting questions. I'm glad you liked it. Yeah Pietro was a bit mean, but hey, he has a quick temper (lol get it?).

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whiterose934- Laughing Yep, I'm alive. Thank you. And You're welcome. Yeah, I have a special place in my heart for Pietro too. I see we share sentiments on Scott. I am glad you love it. I love writing it. Pyro's one of my favorites so expect to see more of him. Have fun with Pyro kay? Wow. I think that was one of the longest reviews I've ever gotten. Keep on reading.

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Mouse- Cute idea, wait and see. I am glad you love it.

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EviltwinAlix-Okay time for a long winded sisterly speech. I understand that you have had some nasty and vicious reviews for one of your stories. Don't let that discourage you. The one-shot you did was less than sanguine and you did give that warning. The two you showed me were evil but don't stop writing, it is a good channel for emotions. Okay now to the review. I am honored to bring out that squealy side for everybody. Especially since you only really squeal for people like Bob the feral blowerfish (you know who I mean girl) when he's harassing us and pretending to hate us when God knows he loves us and would go sane without us. And on another note don't you swear at me! I'll tell mom! Who will go nuts! Oh and you can't tattle on me cuz I don't do anything that would be worth more than an eye-roll. You are the wild child sis. And I know you know where the pink sock is so hand it over! When I buy Marvel I'll give you Pietro and Nightcrawler and you can have Colossus!

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Foxy-Glove- I was wondering if anybody would pick that up. I was aware of it but thank you for pointing it out. Even though it may be hard to believe, I am still a newbie at this and I made a few beginners mistakes. In all honesty that was an oops that revision didn't catch. As your prize for pointing out a plot hole, you get this nice shiny gold-plated magnifying glass because you are such a good detective. I am glad you love this enough to read it and reread it umpteen times but I am curious as to why didn't you ever review before?

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roguishduck- I am glad that this is your favorite. Thank you. Hm, I could say "if I told you how I came up with this, I'd have to kill you" but that seems a bit dramatic. In all honesty...The idea came and beat me over the head one night when I was sleeping in the form of a dream and I started writing it down and low and behold here it is!

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The Collector- Glad you like it. I've been wondering why nobody asked that so you get a gold-plated magnifying glass for the detective work. And they are trust worthy...well, mostly. Keep reading and find out.

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lancitty92- Glad you like it and glad you like how I portray Lance. I love Lancitty too. As for the Jonda, be patient. These things take time you know. Oh and thanks for the ice cream.

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cris the black cat of the black rose- (x 6) (1st) I am glad you like it and I am positive that I know who you are. (2nd) Me? Downplay the emotion of love? Never! It's my main thing. It is the first genre of the story is it not? Sorry but the love and fluffiness stays. So the sock keeps you reading huh? Well I still haven't found it. And yeah I know who you are. (3rd) What, my dear friend, do you have against the penguins? They didn't do anything to you! Why don't you like them. But you are the second person to request something new...Why does the world not like penguins? So you aren't too big on romance huh? Then why are you reading this as it is a ROMANCE/humor story? I didn't think it was overdone. I like it. And the sock is not evil. Its just a clever little being and I suspect my evil twin has abducted it... (4th) I am glad it was funny. AND FOR THE LAST TIME YES I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!!!!! Sorry luv, but your typing and spelling style gives you away like a big sign is over your head identifying you. That and you used your name in the screen name. Leave the poor penguins alone. As to not knowing about the magic socks...Yeah I don't usually wear pink without a fight that's true, but duh! If I advertised the fact that I had magic pink socks everybody would want to use magic to solve their problems. (5th) I am glad you love it and I am glad that you are glad the penguins are no longer with me so now you can leave them alone or they will peck you! (6th) Okay hold on you lost me. I only said okey dokey smokey. That doesn't mean anything bad and its certainly not an insult. Its just something I say when I am in a silly mood. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding...

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Disclaimer: Hear ye! Hear ye! Let it be known that X-men Evolution is the property of Stan Lee, Marvel, and all the other nice people who don't want to punish poor Heartsyhawk for copyright infringement. Let it also be known that any other song, product, company, or etc. is the property of its rightful owner who is not the authoress known as Heartsyhawk. Or in plain old English: It isn't mine. (At least until I find that blasted pink sock...insane laughter)

_Last time in "Back in Diapers"... Remy is terrified of Rogue's spider Dere really was a giant tarampla! Pietro looks sick "This can't be happening!" "...You don't have to act like I am your sister if you don't want to..." "I get TWO sisters out of this?!" Lorna smiles " I recommend plenty of calcium...and fresh chocolate chip cookies" "Why?" "Duh! To go with the milk!" Rogue struggles in her car seat "Why not?" "Because he's a boy and boys are better" "Dat ain' true an' y' know it!" Remy is furious "Tantie Mattie says dat boys who treat filles bad be verres des terres (worms in French)!" "Polegize t' Marie!" "Get out! I don't care how you get home, Pietro!" Pietro is pushed from the jeep "Lance have you seen my brother?" "Doggie!" Kitty squeals and struggles out of Lances arms to pet Rahne the phone rings and Lance answers "Hello Lance? Its Ororo" "Its Storm..." the room falls silent_

"Hello?" Lance gulped. "Lance are you still there?"

"Hi, Ms Monroe." Lance said nervously.

"Hello. How is everything at the mansion?" Lance swallowed hard and shot a panicked look at the rest of the room. Most of the others shrugged and looked nervous too. The kids lost interest and went back to their playing. It was just a phone call.

"Um...Everything's okay." Lance winced as he lied weakly.

"Are you positive Lance? The professor got a reading a while ago when Gambit used his powers." Ororo asked curiously.

"Oh...he was just showing off. You know how he is." Lance said praying she would accept it.

"True, that boy does boast a bit. And he does tend to show off." Ororo stated gently. "Are you sure everything is alright? You sound awfully tired."

"Oh its uh...been a long day."

" I can relate. So how was the party?" Storm asked amused.

Lance swallowed a laugh. She thought he was nervous because of the party? Well if he could calm down, he could work that to his advantage. "You know about that huh?" He said in what would have been a guilty voice but he grinned.

"Well, yes. A word of advice would be to tell Ray and Tabitha not to plan the itinerary for the party the night before we leave. And also, though we are older than you guys, we are not stupid enough to presume that a month of no adults won't lead to at least one party, Lance." Storm said with a smile in her voice. "So...how was it?"

"It , I guess." Lance smiled. He could tell that there was not punishment in store by the calm way Storm was addressing the issue. In fact, she seemed amused. "Definitely not one any of us will be forgetting."

"There wasn't any alcohol right?" Storm asked, suddenly stern. "And any non-mutant guests were not given free reign of the mansion right?"

"No of course not. And we didn't let anyone wander."

"Well, then if everything was okay and you kids had fun, there is no harm done. Actually, Logan says the place better be clean when we get back or he'll gut you all and put your spleens in a jar on the mantle, but don't worry, neither Xavier nor I would allow him to massacre you and your fellow students."

Lance made a mental note to make sure to tidy up since he didn't think an "accident" in the danger room really sounded like a fun ending. "Oh. Okay." Lance said, still a bit unnerved and wanting his insides to remain where they were.

"So how's Europe?" He asked trying to steer the topic away from the mansion and the party.

"Oh it is lovely, I suppose." Storm said gently. "And there is a world-wide conference on mutant's rights in Versailles in a few days. That ought to be interesting. Professor Xavier thinks it will be enlightening. And Logan says it will be a decent way to number our enemies."

Suddenly an indignant shriek penetrated the room.

"Heavens! What on Earth just happened?" Storm asked in obvious concern.

"Oh that was just Todd- I mean Toad." Lance said in nervousness again. He felt sure that this was it, Storm was going to start asking questions and find out that twelve of the team were toddlers and he was gonna be in big trouble and they might even kick him off the team and he'd have to live on his own in this mutant hating world.

But Storm didn't ask what he expected. "Oh I see." She said in her ever-understanding tone. "Is he pestering Wanda again?"

Lance sighed in relief. "Kind of. He's just demanding some attention." He said confidently. After all it was the partial truth. He gestured for Wanda to quiet the kid before he blew the whole thing. Wanda rolled her eyes in exasperation and picked up her ex-tormentor and awkwardly rocked him gently to quiet him. He giggled and smiled the precious adorable smile that can only be properly done by infants and she rolled her eyes at him, but not in exasperation, more of an amused and simultaneously annoyed gesture.

Lance mouthed a gracious thanks to her and focused back on the phone. "Anyway, you were saying, Ms Monroe?" He asked.

"Oh yes. I must inform you that we will probably head home right after the conference. We'll be taking a cruise ship home and we expect to return in about two weeks since the conference will be likely a two or three day occurrence."

"What?!" Lance blurted. "I thought you were staying for a whole month!"

"Well, we decided that that was too long to be away considering all of your ages and we do miss being home."

"But...but...we're fine. You don't have to come home so soon."

"Lance" Ororo said gently. "We appreciate the offer, but a whole month? Yes we need our down time and a vacation is nice but we don't want to be away for so long. What if, heaven forbid, Mystique or Magneto decided to cause trouble? Or somebody else? And what if new mutants manifest and need help? It is really selfish of us to take a whole month for personal time when others are in need."

Lance groaned in dismay and panic. "Okay. You really don't need to come home." He pleaded. "Everyone deserves a break at one time or another. And you really really desperately need this vacation."

"Lance, am I sensing that you do not wish us to come home? Why do you sound so desperate for the extra two weeks? Is there some reason you don't want us to come home?"

Lance started sweating and he gulped nervously. "No. Really. Just stay and have fun. Trust me. Everything is fine."

Storm tutted sternly. "Your behavior makes me curious that something is wrong. What is it? Because if there is trouble, we could be home in as little as six hours."

"Nothing's wrong." Lance said as he winced at how whiney and pathetic he sounded. "Really..."

"Why do I not believe you?"

Lance hesitated but before he could respond, a loud argument started. "Don't you dawe (dare) call Scott a baby!" Jean hollered. "Your just jealous acuz (because) he's betterer than yull (you will) eveh (ever) be!"

"Nuh uh!" Rogue snapped. "He is a baby! He tipped (tripped) an fawed (falled=fell) an' crahed! Onleh li'l babies do that! (only little babies do that)!"

"He felled cuz you pushed him you bwat! (brat)" Jean snapped.

"I wasn' cryin'!" Scott said hastily. "I got dirt in my eyes and dese (these) stupid galses (glasses) don' help nothing!"

"Ah didn' push him!" Rogue snarled. "He fawed (falled=fell)!"

"Cuz (because) Remy lefted his dumb cads (cards) on the four (floor)." Scott scowled.

"Yah should watch wah (where) yah goin' then!" Rogue growled.

"De fille's right mon ami.(the girl's right my friend)." Remy nodded.

"You alays side wiv (always side with) her!" Jean cried.

"She be Remy's amie (female friend {can also mean girl friend but it doesn't mean that here}) an' Remy can' help it if she de une who's right all de time."

"I hate you!" Jean shrieked. "And her too. She's weird and creepy and she isn't a proper gril (girl)!"

"Whass dat apposet' mean?" Remy growled. "She is not!"

"I wasn't talkin' anodder (another) langwich (language) Remy." Jean sneered. "She is weird. Kitty sayed (said) she was pwaying wiv a pider (spider) at the hopsickle (hospital) and she was gunna (gonna) keep the nasty thing as a pet! And she is creepy! She talks funny and she has that ugy (ugly) stupid white in her hair. And she is not a popper gril (proper girl)."

"She is too!" Remy said angrily. "She is fun and perty (pretty) an' smaht (smart) an' all de stuff y' ain't."

"She is not popper." Jean frowned. "Grils (girls) like pink and pupple (purple) an' lellow (yellow) and bootiful (beautiful) cowors (colors) not the icky ones she wears. And real grils (girls) pway wiv dollies and Barbies. She doesn't. So, she isn't a real gril. (girl)"

"She is too!" Remy shouted.

"You juss (just) sayimg (saying) that acuz (because) you wuv her." Scott taunted.

"Yeah, Remy an' Marie sidding (sitting) in a twee!" Jean sneered evily.

"Dat snot (that is not) too(true)." Remy said quickly.

"Take it back ya mean itch (witch not the other one)!" Rogue growled menacingly.

"Goodness sakes what is going on?" Storm asked Lance.

Lance sighed. "Jean, Scott, Remy, and Ma-Rogue are arguing again." He looked helplessly at the squabbling toddlers. "Excuse me, I better go break it up before Tabitha or Pyro start selling tickets."

"Alright Lance, I'll let you handle it then. Oh yeah say hi to Evan for me and remind him to water the plants in my room. Have fun and I'll see you in two weeks."

She hung up and Lance grumbled. He marched over to the kids and picked Rogue and Remy up and brought them over to where Rahne was still getting attention from the kids. "Could you two please not get into any more trouble?" He begged though they glanced up at him not understanding too well.

"They stahted (started) it." Rogue frowned.

Lance shook his head and sighed. "Just stay away from them. You four argue enough to drive anyone nuts. Geez how did your parents handle you little imps?" He sounded upset so the two little kids just mutely nodded and sat down playing with the "doggie".

Lance walked back over to where most of the other teens had taken refuge.

"Two weeks." He moaned. "They are coming back in two measly weeks. And we are so totally dead." He hung his head in his hands.

"Why?" Amanda asked curiously.

Lance sighed heavily. "Because they don't think it's responsible for them to take such a long personal vacation."

"Makes sense." Wanda nodded warily. "I hope Forge gets his act together and fixes this mess."

"Yeah, being a parent-ish figure is tougher than adults make it look." Jubilee frowned.

The phone suddenly rang again. "Oh great more bad news." Lance groaned and answered it.

"Hello?"  
"Hello again Lance. Did you get the fight resolved?" Storm asked gently.

"Yes." Lance said warily. "Why did you call again?"

"Well, I thought it would be best to remind you to be sure that the kids who are going to camp tomorrow are packed by tonight."

"Camp?" Lance asked nervously. He had completely forgotten since arrangements had been made back in January.

"Yes. Surely you guys hadn't forgotten? Jamie and Sam were going to Boy Scout camp, Rahne and Jubilee for Girl Scout camp, Roberto and Ray to sports camp, Rogue and Remy to Poetry and Drama camp. Does this ring any bells?"

"Oh. Yeah." Lance said stupidly. "Now I remember."

"Yes and you were going to drive them to their respective camp sites. Remember now?" Storm asked gently sensing he had indeed forgotten. "Remember, they are all doing two week sessions? We can pick them all up on the way home but can you still bring them?"

"Yeah, I'll drive them. Um...thanks for reminding me." Lance said cursing his memory.

"Ok then Lance, I will let you go and see you and the others in two weeks." She hung up and Lance sat down in anguish.

"What is wrong?" Piotr asked in concern.

"I completely forgot that some of us have camp." He groaned miserably. "And Jamie, Sam, Rahne, Jubilee, Roberto, Ray, and oh sweet sugarcane! Rogue and Gambit too! They have camp. They do and this is terrible and I can't take it anymore!" Piotr looked startled as did most of the others at the fact that Lance seemed on the verge of tears.

"Woah. Calm down Lance." Wanda muttered quietly. She of anyone knew emotions and powers had to be kept in control and if you lost one, you lost both. "It will be okay."

"Wanda." Lance sighed. "If you really believe that, I have some real estate on Mars for you. Nothing is going to be okay. There are still twelve of our friends and teammates who are pre-kindergarten aged. About half of us who are taking care of them are leaving for two weeks. And on top of it, the adults are coming home and will be home in two weeks. And if that isn't bad enough...Forge has not fixed this stupid problem and I do not think I am cut out to EVER be a parent of twelve mini-mutants."

Wanda sighed. "Well, Forge is working on it. Give the guy some credit. He doesn't want this to get us in trouble anymore than you or I do. And even though you don't really know what to do, you're doing great. None of us ever really have been with too many little kids and we're all playing by ear. Just calm down. You're not the only one who is afraid here." Wanda snapped. "Panicking is not helping any of us. I for one have never had too much kid experience and they kind of scare me but what's worse is seeing you; the oldest, the leader, the one I am looking up to, freaking out." The door bell upstairs rang. "And on the top of everything, dinner has arrived." Wanda said with a small smile.

Lance took a deep breath and then headed up to greet the pizza delivery person.

"He wooks sad." Kitty commented. "Why is Wance sad?" She tilted her head up in childish concern.

"Ah dunno." Rogue shrugged. "We kin aks (ask) him when he comes back."

Kitty nodded and agreed to wait. But their wait wasn't too long. As soon as she sat down, Lance returned to the stairwell with pizza boxes in hand.

But they didn't get the chance to ask why Lance was so upset because Amanda peeked out of the danger room and herded the three kids out of the older mutants way.

Lance set down the pizza's on a little table. "Dinner time." He smiled at how those two words grabbed all twelve kidlets' attention.

He grabbed the paper plates and started putting slices on them. Pyro immediately grabbed for one but Wanda caught his hand.

"Watch it Pyro. You don't want to burn yourself do you?"

"Who's Pywo?" The kid asked in irritation. "My name is John." He spoke slowly as if talking to somebody who was mental. "C'mon an' say it wiv me. Jah-on. Moy (My) whole name's Sain' John Awerdyce (Allerdyce). Oym not Pywo." He said this while frowning indignantly.

Wanda rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair. "Quit that!" He whined and threw his hands onto his head.

The teens laughed. "She's right you know." Lance said amused. "You will get burnt if you touch that without letting it cool down first."

The small red-head rolled his eyes. "Johnny never bin burneded (burned =burnt). Not in who' (whole) wifetime (lifetime)." He said as if any idiot knew this.

"Well just wait." Lance said patiently as he continued to put pizza on plates. He looked at the other teens. "Do you guys think it would be okay to give Todd and Amara pizza?"

"They don't even have that many teeth Lance." Amanda laughed. "We do have baby food. These two are way too young. Its probably pushing it to let the two year olds have pizza."

"Alright." Lance shrugged and handed each kid a plate. "Don't touch it yet." He warned. "Who wants to deal with drinks," he asked the others hopefully.

"How many of them are able to use cups do you think?" Jamie asked hesitantly. "I mean, real cups like me and you use."

"I have honestly no clue at all." Lance said honestly. "Probably the four oldest but I wouldn't bet on that so just get them the cup things with lids."

"Sippi-cups?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah sure if that's what they're called." Lance shrugged.

"Um could somebody help me? I don't really know how to do this..." The thirteen year old admitted reluctantly. Piotr nodded and headed upstairs too.

"Okay. Now that that is taken care of." Lance smiled at the kids. "I guess you can eat now if you are really careful and blow on each bite so you don't burn yourselves."

They all grinned even though they hadn't really listened.

The kids all reached for their food.

"Owie!" Bobby cried. "Its way hot!" He whimpered and cradled his hand gingerly. "I no wike (like) hot pizza!" He scowled and picked it up again. Suddenly he yelped and dropped it. Everyone gasped and looked at the pizza that was now encased in a thin coat of ice.

"Wow. How'd yah do that?" Rogue asked incredulously. "That was cool!"

Bobby mutely shook his head and stared at the pizza. He examined it amazed. "Did I do that?" He asked in awe.

Lance groaned. "Iceman's powers are still active then. Great. Just perfect."

"Wow. Maybe I'm a awien. (alien)" He grinned. "That would be the bestest wouldn't it?" He asked his friends.

"You not a awien (alien)" Jean rolled her eyes.

"Aw what you know emmyway (anyway)" Bobby pouted. "I iced pizza! Hewo! (hello) is there anything mo' awienish than that?" He exclaimed excited. "Duh! Its wike somfing (something) from a cattoom (cartoon)!"

Jean huffed and stormed off to her corner seeing as she seemed to enjoy her own company more than the other kids. Scott awkwardly followed and she snapped at him to get lost.

Tabitha shrugged. "Who needs her? It would be weal cool if you were a awien Bobby! Jus' think you could do anything an' not get inta twouble (into trouble) an' maybery (maybe) you kin be a suber-'ero (super hero)." Her eyes lit up at the possibility. "An' you cud feez aw the ba-guys (could freeze all the bad guys)! It'd be like BOOM! You feezd! or Feez! You under a vest (your under arrest) and then you cud make 'em feez fo' weal!" She laughed at the thought as she mimed out the actions. But suddenly one of her energy balls flew from her hand and exploded at Pyro's feet.

The result was Todd starting to cry, joined shortly by Amara, and Pyro standing there with a shocked expression at his charred clothes. His eyes were wide and his hair was wilder than normal. He held the remains of his pizza with care.

"Tabby make Boom?" She asked aloud with an expression similar to the one when she had discovered Bobby's hero potential. "That is so cazy! F'get Bobby! I cud be a betterer suber-'ero anyways! Cuz efferone (everyone) knows gil suber-'eroes are betterer fen boy suber-'eroes any day. Like Wumber Woman or Seena (girl super heroes are better than boy super heroes any day like Wonder Woman or Xena." She started laughing insanely and flexing her hand to try and make another exploding ball. She did and it startled her so she dropped it and it rolled over to Jean.

KABOOM!

Jean whimpered slightly. Her eyes were wide and all of her hair was stuck on end. Lance hid a smile at the look of indignation and Wanda disguised a laugh into a cough. Rogue wasn't quite so polite as she burst out laughing hysterically.

"I wanna go home." Jean said bitterly to Lance. "I don't like it here. You are mean!" She whimpered tearfully.

Lance sighed. "Everything will be alright Jean." He said as kindly as he could to the sneering child.

"Nuh-uh! I want Mommy and Daddy!" Jean sniffled. "And Sawah! (Sarah)"

"Well...You can't go home right now, kiddo." Lance said gently. He didn't know what to really tell her. "Don't you want any pizza?"

She gave him a scathing look. "Pizza is fatting (fattening). Its not heffy (healthy). Mommy neber (never) lets me eat it."

Lance sighed in irritation. "Well Jean, its your dinner. Just do it this one time. Please?"

"Well, since you sayed peez." She took the pizza hesitantly. She meekly ate it while looking like it would bite back.

Lance slank back over to the other teens. "Aye Chihuahua! Can anything else go wrong?" He sat down on a folding chair and ate a slice of pizza.

Piotr and Jamie reentered the danger room turned play room with arms full of cups and baby bottles.

They handed each child a cup, and Todd and Amara a bottle full of milk. Wanda reluctantly held her young teammate and the bottle in separate arms and helped hold it for him as he drank greedily. Jubilee smiled knowingly at the Gothic girl as she helped Amara.

Tabitha took a cautious sip and then spat. "Yuck! Not chocit (chocolate) mik (milk). No want." She tried tipping it upside down but it had a spill proof cap. Frustrated, she sat down and tried to pry it off.

Piotr shook his head as she gave up and repeatedly slammed it against the floor.

"As if we'd let her have chocolate milk." Wanda muttered quietly so only Lance heard.

Tabitha frowned and toddled over to where Lance sat. "I fink its bwoked. (broken)." She said seriously. "It no come part (Tabby talk for it doesn't come apart.)" She shook her head in emphasis.

Lance chuckled. "Well Tabitha, it isn't supposed to let you take it apart." She frowned and threw it. It hit Fred in the back of the head and he dropped his pizza looking scandalized.

Lance sighed and picked her up so he could look her directly in the eyes. "No throwing things Tabitha." He said sternly. "Okay? Do you understand me?"

"No." She giggled and squirmed to get down. "Put me down." He sighed and let her down.

The little girl giggled and scurried off to talk about being a superhero team with Bobby.

"Some people never change." Jubilee smiled gently, setting Amara on the floor to crawl around for a little. "She always was the hyper carefree girl."

"Yeah, seems like fifteen years made no difference. in her." Lance laughed.

Wanda looked at them in surprise. "She's always been this way? How did you people live with her?"

"She's a bit irritating at first, but you get attached to her." Lance smiled. "Honestly, it was kind of cool. And she's the kind of person who could make going shopping for bread and milk an adventure more fun than most people would have on a week trip to Paris."

Wanda watched curiously as the girl strolled up to Amara and started chatting at Pietro-esque speeds. She had not really had the chance to get to know the girl since she had left the Boarding House the same day Mystique brought her to it. But she did sound like an interesting room mate.

While the other kids sat eating pizza, Wanda and Jubilee captured Toad and Amara to spoon some nasty looking baby food into the little one's mouths. Amara was less than impressed and by the end of the ordeal, Jubilee looked as if she had tipped the small jar over her own head.

Wanda had wordlessly accepted the challenge of getting Toad fed. She figured it wouldn't be too hard, the boy ate flies for crying out loud. How fussy could he be? She soon found out that he just liked playfully turning his face from the spoon as she brought it to his mouth.

"Come on you little pest." She said half agitated, half affectionate. "Fine, you want to starve to death, be my guest." He turned amused hazel eyes to her and cooed.

"No." He muttered. She nearly dropped him in shock.

"He can talk?" She sputtered.

"No." He cooed again. "No. No. No." He babbled. And she sighed.

"You had me there for a second Toad." She smirked. "But no, you're just babbling. She smiled as he gave her a look that she interpreted as a 'Duh!' look.

"Come on just eat a little bit?" She pleaded. He giggled.

"No."

She sighed and offered him the spoonful of baby food. "Its good for you." He raised an eyebrow. "No, that wouldn't have sold me either. Okay...um...it smells like what you used to eat." He clenched his mouth shut tight. "Come on!" She begged. He shook his head. "Its yummy!" She tried and he gave her a look of disbelief. "No, really it-" She mimed putting the spoon to her mouth. He watched her with wide eyes. He tilted his head to the side beginning to trust her. The scent of the stuff made her nauseas and she didn't blame him for putting up a fight. She wouldn't eat it if she was starved to death.

She lowered the spoon and pretended to chew. He raised both eyes as if he didn't believe her. She groaned and thought hard.

Suddenly a stray memory surfaced from a long time ago.

__

"Dinner time kids." A tall and smiling man with white hair hoisted first a baby girl with jet black hair and a red dress and then a little boy with snow white hair and a red shirt and denim shorts into their high chairs.

He sat in front of his son while a young woman with black hair and a pretty face took a seat before her daughter's highchair. Each had a bowl of freshly puréed baby food in front of them.

"Hey babies." The woman smiled gently. "Tonight you have fresh peas and spinach and carrots that Mommy grew special for her precious little angels in her garden."

"Alright Mr. and Miss fussy baby of the year. Lets try to get through one meal where your mother and I don't end up looking like we went swimming in your dinner okay?" The man asked his son and daughter. The twins exchanged an impish glance. They hadn't completely understood but they made a habit of making the biggest mess they could at meal times.

"Eric, dear, do you think they'll like it? I mean they are fussy..." The babies' mother asked anxiously.

"Magda, darling, I'm sure its fine. Its very healthy. If they eat it they'll grow up big and strong. And beautiful. That'll be good won't it? Don't you want to be happy and healthy, huh Pietro? Wanda?" Eric tickled each child under their chin and received a giggle from each in return. "That's my boy and my girl." He smiled affectionately.

He moved the spoon to his son's mouth but the little boy smirked and turned his head. The twin's mother chuckled and offered the little girl a spoonful. She locked her lips with a grin.

"Wanda sweetie...don't be so stubborn."

Eric sighed and tickled the little boy under the chin. When the baby laughed, the man took the opportunity to gently place the spoonful of baby food into his mouth.

"That's a good boy Pietro." Eric smiled. Then he grew worried as Pietro smirked. Before he knew what hit him, his face was dripping with the grayish-green food that had previously been in his son's mouth. "Ah, Pietro. What am I going to do with you?"

The little boy blinked large ice blue eyes and giggled. He shrugged his shoulders. "No Dada." That was the barely one-year-old's way of saying I don't know Dad.

"Come on it tastes good." Without thinking too much, the man put the spoon to his face and tasted what he had been encouraging his son to eat. He made a disgusted face and swallowed miserably. "Okay. I don't blame you kiddo. But you have to eat. Its yummy." The twins and their mother laughed as he strained to say this.

"Come on Princess, Open up for the choo-choo train." The woman said in a sing song voice to her daughter. The little girl gave her mother a skeptical glare and opened her mouth. Her mother gently moved some of the food and the little girl swallowed bitterly.

"Ick!" She frowned.

"Wanda, I know you don't like it, princess, but you have to eat it." The small girl stuck her tongue out. Then she grabbed a handful of the off-colored mess and threw it at her brother. He retaliated and the two had a blast turning the kitchen into a mural of their dinner.

The final result was Eric scrubbing down the kitchen and Magda scrubbing down the twins. She got Pietro into a soft blue set of pajamas and fought her daughter into a red set. About an hour later, after she had read them the story of The Frog Prince, and the twins lay sleeping in their respective cribs.

Eric came in and put an arm around his wife. "Good job, honey. Its hard to believe they are such demons when they're awake. Isn't it?"

"Yeah, they are angels when they are sleeping." The woman smiled and bent to kiss each of her children good night.

Eric gently did the same. His son and daughter fluttered their eyes open.

"Ni-ni mama" (good night mama in baby talk) They cooed.

"Ni-ni dada" (good night dada in baby talk) They said and then fell back asleep.

Wanda shook her head to clear her mind of the flashback. She smiled at the memory and looked at the baby in her arms. He was staring at her confused as she momentarily had surrendered the battle to feed him.

She grinned and forced the spoon into his mouth to his surprise. He gave her a bitter scowl and then took on the smirk of a kid about to do something that would result in trouble.

He spat it back and she grumbled. She snarled and handed him off to Lance with a low muttered. "I need a shower; YOU feed the little monster." She stormed off and left Lance incredibly confused.

Eventually the teens were finished and cleaned up and Wanda was still sulking bitterly. Lance glanced at the clock and sighed. "Okay. Time to face the music. Lets see a show of hands of who remembered the two fateful words "Summer Camp"." The teens all gasped. "I thought so. Okay, those of you who are going go get packed. You guys have your lists of supplies and you'd better know what you need because I sure as heck don't. All I know is I'm driving. And that Jamie and Sam are off to Boy Scout camp; Rahne and Jubilee, to Girl Scout camp; Roberto and Ray, sports camp for you two. And Goodness knows I don't know how to handle the situation with Rogue and Gambit and Poetry and Drama camp."

Those who needed to pack headed upstairs. Lance thought hard as to how to fix the situation with Rogue and Remy. He knew Rogue had signed up to escape the Cajun, and he had gone behind her back and signed up to spend time with her. He didn't think it would be too cool to send two toddlers to camp so he had to think of a way out of it.

He sighed and turned to the phone. He dialed information and asked for the camp director. The operator connected him and the director answered the phone on the third ring.

"Hello, Ms. Ima Thespian, director of Camp Theatre, the camp for the youth gifted with Poetic and Dramatic Talents, speaking." The person on the other end of the line answered.

"Um hi." Lance started. "I'm calling about the session of camp that starts tomorrow." He said uncertainly.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"Well two of the teens enrolled there, Rogue and Remy LeBeau, won't be able to make their session."

"Hm, Why ever not?" The camp director asked curiously.

"Um, there's a bit of a family emergency." He said cautiously. He didn't want to lie so he stuck with a semi-truth.

"Oh dear, is everything alright?" The director asked in concern.

"Yes...no...we aren't a hundred percent sure right now. I can't give out too many details but its a long complicated story and those two won't be able to make camp at this time."

"Oh well I hope everything is alright. Do send the camp's regards to them." The director said softly. "After reading their entrance pieces we here at the camp had been looking forward to meeting them in person." She sounded vaguely disappointed. "Oh well, maybe next time...We will mail their refund home."

"Thank you." Lance said gratefully. "Bye." He hung up and released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He had expected much more of a hassle.

He looked to the two kids whose camp session he had just terminated. They were among the last people still eating. Rogue picked up her untouched pizza and took three small bites. Then she set it down.

"Ah'm full. Yah wan' it Remy?" She tilted her head to the side with a smile and he took it with a nod.

Lance put a movie on for the kids. It wasn't one that would be his first choice but he didn't feel right letting them watch something like The Matrix or Mortal Kombat. So he settled for Cinderella. Well he didn't watch it. That would be degrading.

Apparently, Rogue had similar inhibitions to the movie. Most of the others sat down and were mesmerized by the colorful Disney movie. Rogue curled her lip.

"Guys lets pay (play) somethin' fun." She begged. She gently tapped Kitty on the shoulder. "Tag! Yah it!" She took off running and looked behind her with a playful grin, expecting the small girl to be chasing her. She frowned in disappointment. "Kitty? Wanna come an' pay (play)wiv (with) meh?"

"Nuh-uh." Kitty said without looking up. "This is my fabrite (favorite) mobie eberer (movie ever)!"

"Oh..." Rogue said confused. "Tabifa (Tabitha) yah alays ready ta pay...Ah'll hahde (hide) an' yah can seek."

"Don' wanna." Tabitha shook her blonde head.

"Yah kin hahde than (you can hide then)." Rogue said pleadingly.

"Why don't you jus' leave us nermal (normal) grils (girls) lone, Marie?" Jean sneered. "This is a good mobie. (movie). Any reglar (regular) gril (girl) likes it."

"But Ah don'." Rogue said softly. She looked hurt.

"Oh don' listen t'er (to her), Marie." Remy rolled his eyes and put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Y' know she's lyin'. If y' gots t' like dat borin' stuff t' be a reglar fille den maybe y' don' wanna be one. Jus' be y'self. Y' special already. Y' don' need t' like dat stuff. Y' betterer den all dat. B'sides, Remy don' like Cnidrilla (Cinderella) neit'er." He smiled. "Y' don' need dem t' play wit' y' if dey gunna be meanies bout it."

Rogue smiled gratefully. "Ah don' like the dumb mobie. Iss jus' bout a dumb girl whose sad acuz she can' go ta the dumb pahty (party) ta dance with the guy. An' he's dumb acuz he on'y likes 'er acuz she's pretty and then he tries ta find her wiv a shoe. An' that's stupid cuz what if her dumb feet were the same ezact (exact) as somebody else's? An' what stupid gal would wear gwass (glass) soes (shoes) nanyway? (anyway)?"

"Remy grees wit' y'. Dat can' be tres comferble. (very {In FRENCH} comfortable). What if dey breaked? Hello! Dat would hurt!"

Rogue grinned. "Maybe Ah should git Jean a pair." She smirked impishly.

"Remy don' like blood." He shook his head gently. "B'sides, y' really wanna heah (hear) dat fille screamin'?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Nah, not really." Rogue shrugged. "Ah'll save it fo' a lastest retort (last resort)." She responded thoughtfully. "So what da ya wanna do?"

He shrugged. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "What is there ta do roun' here?"

Lance heard her and laughed. She always had hated the story of Cinderella, he remembered that from her days as the first girl member of the brotherhood. He stood up and went upstairs for a few moments. He came back down with Jamie's bucket of crayons and a whole package of computer paper.

"Hey Marie. Hey Remy. You two don't want to watch the movie?"

"Well, duh!" Rogue rolled her eyes. "An' yah can' tell meh its good cuz ya ain't watchin' it neiver. (neither)."

Lance smiled. "You're right. Never liked that story. So do you two like coloring?"

Rogue's eyes lit up when she spotted the crayons and paper. "Yes peaze!" She held her hands out expectantly.

Lance grinned and put the crayons and paper on the floor in between the two kids. "Okay draw me a really nice picture. Okay you two?" They nodded and started working. Lance retreated back to his chair. He watched with interest as the two worked diligently. Rogue flopped onto her belly and kicked her feet to a beat only she could hear. She held the crayon steady and unconsciously stuck her tongue out just a little in concentration. Remy did the same thing without realizing it, only he began humming to a tune Lance had never heard at the same time , and it was an adorable sight Lance had to take a picture of.

Lance thought it was sweet how well the two got along. Until both reached for the same crayon.

"Ah need ta use the bwack (black) Remy." She said forcefully.

"Remy on'y need it fo a secon' Marie." He said just as strongly.

"Gimme it!" Rogue pulled at the crayon with a glare in her eyes.

"Non! Remy had i' firstest!" He tugged it towards him. "Remy give it t' y' in a momen'!"

"Yah did not!" Rogue grumbled. "Ah sawed it firstest!"

"C'mon Marie!" He begged, both were so engrossed with their tug-of-war-match with the crayon that neither noticed the pinkish-orange glow surrounding it.

Lance noticed too late that it was growing brighter and he rushed towards them. "Drop the-"

BOOM  
The crayon exploded and the force shot the two kids to other sides of the room. Remy ended up thrown to the side of the huge room where all the other kids were.

"Watch it Remy!" Jean snarled as she pushed him off of her.

"Kay?" Pyro asked curiously. "You neber sayed (never said) you cud fwy (fly) Remy!"

Rogue on the other hand, had been thrown over to the beds. Lance groaned and headed over to her. Wanda had already started to head to Remy.

"You okay Marie?" He gently helped her up.

"Owie." She whimpered. "What happened?" She blinked her eyes in confusion. She held up her arm which had grazed the sharp underside of a bed and was dripping a little blood.

Remy struggled out of Wanda's grasp and hurried to his best friend with a horrified expression. "NON! Marie? Y' okay? Remy di'n' mean t'..."He looked ready to cry at seeing her bleeding in Lance's arms.

"Remy?" She said pleasantly.

"Oui? (yes)" He looked into her eyes and was filled with guilt and fear.

"Shut up." She glared at him. "An' breave (breathe). Ah'm okay." She said gently.  
"Let me up!" She demanded to Lance.

"I think you'll be okay." He sighed in relief. "You're gonna need a band-aid for where the bed cut you a little bit. Rogue rolled her eyes and pulled away from him. He quickly went and got the peroxide and the bandages he had just bought earlier. He returned to the room and brought Rogue to the sink in the downstairs bathroom and perched her on the edge.

"Okay this won't hurt. But I have to put some peroxide on that cut." He explained as she shrugged. Like she had any idea what peroxide was anyway. It was barely a skin scrape. But it was bleeding slightly. He gently poured a small amount of the Hydrogen Peroxide directly onto her arm.

As soon as the cool liquid touched her flesh, Rogue howled in pain and misery. "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She gave him a disgusted glare. "Yah said it wouldn' hut!" She scowled as tears sprung to her eyes. "Yah lied!"

"I'm sorry." Lance sighed. "But you don't want it to get infected. Besides, you tell me you honestly wouldn't have freaked out if I told you it would sting a little." He eyed her.

"A li'l?" Rogue scowled. "Whah don' Ah dump some o dat on yah? Then we'll see what huts a li'l!" She snarled.

He shook his head and put a green bandage on her arm. Then he brought her back into the room with the others. She glared at him and took off to tell the others not to trust him especially if he approached them with a brown bottle.

He threw his arms in the air and groaned. "I just don't get a break. I'm almost beginning to see why her parents put her in an orphanage!" Then watching her playing with her friends he had to smile. "And I'm also seeing why Mystique fished her out."

"Careful Lance, don't get too emotional on us." Wanda joked, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Its starting to scare me."

Lance shrugged. "Okay yeah she can be a migraine waiting to happen, but can't they all just be so sweet too?"

"Okay Mr. Dad." Wanda smiled playfully. "Do you need me to call a psychiatrist or a psychologist for you? You're starting to sound really scary."

"Oh shut up." He said good naturedly. "You're one to talk, aren't you. If a stranger on the street saw you with Toad they would be convinced you were his mother. And you haven't exactly been too much of a shrinking violet when its come to dealing with the little beasts."

Wanda blushed slightly. She didn't deny it though. She knew it was all true. All of the teens who had needed to pack for camp had pretty much finished and come back into the danger room-transformed into the ideal play pen. The little kids formed into their little groups and played for a while.

It was only when Jean and Scott fell asleep using each other as pillows did Lance look at the time and decide that even if it was Summer Vacation, eleven o'clock was just not a fair time to keep toddlers up until.

"Okay. I'm about to make myself public enemy number one here, but I think we'd all better get to bed now. Little people need a lot of sleep and if we're going to be keeping up with them we need it too." He said pointedly to all the teens. "Colossus, I'd appreciate it if you could help move beds and stuff. We should probably do guys here in the danger room and girls in either the planning or the war room."

Colossus nodded and began to move the furniture with Lance's direction. The girls ended up in the planning room, with tables and chairs pushed to the side. All the older teens helped make sure that each of the de-aged mutants beds were made and secure with the guard rails. They also helped move stuff into the room the people were sleeping in. When that was all done, the teens looked at each other warily. It was time to get the kids ready for bed and they had a premonition that this would be the hardest part.

They walked back into the danger room and were greeted with a cute sight. All around the room the kids had started nodding off. Jean and Scott were still sitting fast asleep against the wall and using each other as pillows. Toad and Amara had just lay down on the floor and fallen asleep. Bobby was sitting close by the two of them, blinking drowsily. Kurt was asleep, holding the toy car he had decided was his possessively. Pyro looked at them sleepily with big weary blue eyes from where he sat scribbling on a piece of paper from the pile Lance had given Rogue and Remy with an orange crayon. Kitty was nine-tenths asleep leaning on an oversized pink stuffed bunny rabbit Tabitha was standing over Freddy and poking his arm to see if he was really asleep. She frowned and rushed over to Pyro and picked up a pink crayon and colored on the same paper as him. He didn't seem to mind too much, as he just kept on scribbling with his orange crayon. Remy was still coloring too. Only Rogue had cuddled up next to him, shivering slightly and fallen 99% asleep. He had taken off his sweat shirt and let her use it as a blanket even though he was obviously chilly himself.

Lance instantly felt pretty guilty. Even though it was a summer night, these two were used to the much warmer and more humid nights of their homes in New Orleans and Caldecott. Being from Illinois himself, Lance felt pretty warm in June in New York. But as toddlers, these two were used to it being much warmer. And it didn't help that they were in a big metal room that was air conditioned.

He headed up into the control room and looked for a thermostat. He found it and set the temperature a bit higher to be fair to the little kids. He reentered the danger room and figured that getting these little kids to bed wouldn't be too difficult. Especially considering that they were so worn out already.

"Okay this shouldn't be too hard." He said to the other teens. "Look how tired they are. This will be easy." He smiled confidently.

Sam snorted. "Famous last words." He shook his head. "Looks kin be d'cievin' (deceiving) guys."

The teens felt instantly nervous. Lance shook it off and stepped closer to the kids. "Okay kids, you all need to get to sleep. It's time for bed." He said soothingly.

The effects of those words were amazing. Bobby, Kurt, Pyro, and Tabitha jumped up as if they had been shot...or infused with Mountain Dew, Coca-Cola, and Jolt (the three most caffienated sodas Heartsyhawk knows of) simultaneously. They were instantly full of energy as if they had just had a three hour nap. They all scrambled around and hurried as far away from Lance as they could get, giggling and grinning the whole way. Even Kitty and Freddy looked energized and made hasty efforts to take off.

Lance groaned and rolled his eyes. He added the words bed and sleep to his mental list of no's with the toddlers. He looked around helplessly as six of the kids, the six hardest to control, nonetheless, ran around screaming.

He went for Freddy first, figuring he'd be the easiest to catch, being the slowest. He caught him and passed him to Roberto. The Brazilian didn't look too overly thrilled at it, but he grabbed a set of soft flannel orange pajamas with little purple alphabet letters and then took the large two-year-old to the bathroom to get him dressed and ready for bed. Then Lance scooped Amara up and gently handed her to Jubilee who retrieved a royal purple "onesie" that had gold trim on the sleeves and collar from the baby's designated baby clothes bag. Next he managed to capture Kitty and surprisingly Tabitha and passed them off to Amanda. Kitty quietly allowed her pink nightgown to be put on without too much fussing. She didn't care too much about escaping since she was tired and not in a crazy hyper mood so late at night.

Tabitha on the other hand was putting up a huge fight. She struggled and faught the whole time.

Amanda groaned in frustration. "Tabitha this isn't fair! Hold still for just a moment." The little girl refused to cooperate.

"NO!" She howled miserably. "Tabby Splody Girl! (Splody is kid talk for Exploding.) Splody Girl no gots bettime (bedtime)! Gotta save de word (world) an' over (other) suber 'ero (super hero stuffs)!"

Amanda sighed and thought for a second. Then she smiled. "Okay, but how about we design your super hero costume? You can't be a super hero without it."

"Weally?" Tabitha tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Yeah Tabby." Amanda smiled. "Just like Super Girl, and Wonder Woman, and Xena, and even the guy superheroes."

"Ok. Less do that then." Tabitha nodded. "Need you help Tabby. An' make it real good."

Amanda smirked coyly. "Okay first we have the um...Purple Nightgown of uh...niceness. It helps you to uh...turn bad guys nice." She slipped it over Tabitha's head.

"Awesome!" Tabitha grinned. "What else? What else?"

Amanda thought for a moment and picked up a set of slippers. "Here we have the slippers of super speed." She smiled and put them on the little girl's feet. "They help you go super fast to catch really fast bad guys."

Tabitha admired her outfit smiling. "Got anything else?"

Amanda nodded gently. She reached into her pocket and pulled out two pink hair ribbons. "These, are really special." She whispered as she tied the girl's blonde hair into pig tails.

"Oh." Tabitha whispered back. "What do they do?" And then as an after thought, "Why are we whipserin' (whispering)?"

"We have to be really quiet so no villians hear us. And these...um...they help protect your secret identity. Yeah that's it and now nobody will be able to tell who you are. Except your real friends."

Tabitha smiled gratefully. Then she frowned. "Hey if these cloves (clothes) are a suber ewe (super hero) custarm (costume) why didn' you tell Tabby that befowe (before)?"

"Well if I advertised the fact don't you think that everyone would want one Tabitha?"

"Oh." The two year old nodded sagely. "What's averteased? (advertised)"

Amanda laughed. "Advertised means tell everybody."

"Oh. " Tabitha smiled. "I knew that. Juss seein' if you knowed it."

Amanda shook her head in amusement. Then she remembered something important. She scooped up a pink baby blanket that had been in the bag for Tabitha's stuff. She carefully tucked it into the back of the girl's pajamas and then stepped back.

"What dis for?" Tabby asked confused.

"Its a cape silly."

"Oh!" Tabitha's eyes lit up. "Does it hep (help) Tabby fwye (fly)?" She asked hopefully.

"No." Amanda shook her head. "It just looks cool. That and it helps people know you are a super hero."

Tabitha smiled and twirled to admire her "costume". Then she launched herself at Amanda and hugged her tight. "Fank you so much fer hepping Tabby! (Thank you so much for helping Tabby)"

Amanda laughed and then led both girls back into the danger room so she could help with anybody else if need be.

Back in the danger room, Lance had caught Bobby and Ray had done close to what Amanda had done with Tabitha. He had told him the blue, one piece, zip up pajamas, with the red 'S' on a yellow diamond was his costume. (Props for anyone who knows kinda what that pajamas is based on. Give you a hint, I don't own that either.) Ray had also safety pinned a blue snowman towel onto his back. Tabitha was joyously comparing notes with him and discussing being a team. Amanda gave Ray a knowing look and both laughed.

Suddenly, Tabitha and Bobby approached Jean. "And who do you think you two are?" She sneered.

Tabitha grinned. "Me am Splody Girl. An' this is my colleash (colleague) Fosty Boy (Frosty Boy)." The blonde smirked.

"Deam on." Jean rolled her eyes in irritation. "You two neber gonna be weal superheroes."

Both two year olds looked hurt. "Leave 'em lone Jean." Rogue snapped. She stomped over with her hands on her hips. "They didn' do nuttin' ta yah."

"You're not the boss of me Marie." Jean frowned. "They look bout as dumb as you are."

Rogue frowned as if she had been slapped. "Ah'm not dumb Jean. But yah can caw me that an' it don' bover meh (bother me) acuz (because) Ah know it ain' true. But theh (they're) youngah (younger) than ya an' they don' know it ain' true. They look up ta ya, Heaben (Heaven) on'y knows why, but they do."

Remy hurried over as Jean raised her fist and looked ready to hit Rogue. "What de matter?"

"Jean's bein' mean t' Tatiba (Tabitha) an' Bobby." She frowned.

Remy surveyed the two little kids and their 'super hero' costumes. "Aw don' worry none Tabby an' Bobby. She jus' jealous cuz she ain' a super hero. An' she'll neber be one, specially since she meaner den Spot an' Marie's Tante Irene's kitty chat (cat in French) all putted t'get'er."

The red-head scowled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I, am just smart enough to bewieve (believe) that they can't. I'm only being honest, Remy."

Before he could retort, Rahne (now in her human form for the night) came over.

"Jeannie, its a time fer ye te git ready fer bed." And Jean, being the perfect little red-head she is reached up, took Rahne's hand and allowed herself to be led away and then put on her own blue nightgown.

"Don' y' two listen t' her none." Rogue smiled. "Y'all will be cool heroes someday. Y' jus' need a li'l trainin' firstest. An' maybe git a li'l older an' bigger. But Jean's just a bully."

Tabitha and Bobby grinned at her, amazed. "You weally are the bestest keen! (queen)" Bobby smiled in appreciation.

"Ascuze (excuse) meh?" She asked him with wide eyes.

"Y' didn' tell Remy y' were loyalty! (royalty)" Remy looked at her with new found respect.

"But...Ah ain' a kreen! (Queen)" She said puzzled. "Wouldn' Ah know if Ah was?"

"Nobody tode (told) you?" Bobby asked in wonder.

"What?" She asked.

"We lectured (elected) you be the keen!" Tabitha beamed. "We didn' like Jean and Scoot or Skitty or Scotty or whatever. Jean gotted all upsetted acuz Johnny wanted burn her dumb ol' dollie as a saperfrice (sacrifice)."

Rogue's jaw dropped. "An' y'all want meh ta be the kreen? (queen)"

"Uh-huh, you good leater (leader). An' you care bout us all. An' you not mean an' bossy." Tabitha chirped. "An' one of the oldest of all of us."

"Ah never asked to be a queen." Rogue said hesitantly.

Remy grinned at her. "An' dat makes y' perfect for de job Marie. T'ink 'bout it. Dey're right Chérie. Dey really are." He said earnestly as they watched Roberto corner Kurt and fight him into a red Hot wheels pajama set.

"Yeah Ah guess..." She tilted her head to the side in amusement as Sam led a cooperating Scott out towards the bathroom while carrying a set of Bob the Builder pajamas.

"But would Ah even be a good Keen?"

"Remy t'ink y' de kind of fille who kin be anyt'in' good." He smiled gently.

"Ah don'." She said sadly. "Theh (they're) mah friends. Ah don' wanna let 'em down or disappoint them."

"Den don'." He shrugged. "They just t'ink y'd be a good leater (leader) Marie. Remy t'ink dey be mo' sad if y' don' even try."

The girl looked away deep in thought. Lance had just taken Freddy in to the bathroom to dress him in the soft orange tee shirt and shorts pajamas and had returned to scoop up his other team mate, Toad. She watched in mild fascination as Lance carried the child who was half asleep out of the room.

"Okay. Ah guess Ah'll try." She shrugged and smiled as Tabitha and Bobby cheered in happiness.

"We kin do a carnation (coronation) tomorrow." Bobby announced.

At that moment Wanda came up. "Hey Marie, you ready for bed?"

Rogue gave her a skeptical glance and Wanda knew it was a stupid question. She lifted the small girl up and brought her into the girls' room. She helped the little girl into a set of warm, long sleeved, footed pajamas. They were a nice shade of hunter green that Rogue seemed to like very much.

When she was completely dressed, Wanda noticed that the girl had been wearing her gloves all day without question. She decided to see if the reason for the gloves was not only her powers.

"Hey Marie, do you like wearing those gloves?"

The younger girl shrugged. "Theh (their) okay Ah guess. They itch an' git real hot but mah mama says Ah gots a skin curdition (condition) an' somefin' (something) bad'll happen if anyone touches mah skin."

Wanda felt sympathetic. The girl had never really had much skin to skin touch. She vaguely wondered how she accepted it so well. Especially since the other kids were so clingy and huggy.

Back in the boys room, Piotr was ready to burst into tears. He of course had to deal with possibly two of the most difficult little boys in the group. Pyro proved easy enough to capture but it was near impossible to do much else. He attempted to squirm away while shrieking. And he yelled the whole time the top half of his pajamas was pulled over his head. He twisted away and tried desperately to escape as his Piotr guided the two-year-old's arms through the holes. He kicked and wriggled to get away as the bottoms were put on until he saw the pattern.

He almost burst with delight upon seeing the soft red-orange fabric with a flame ball with a face on it. Satisfied with his work, Piotr turned to Remy. The boy would prove to be a challenge but not nearly so hyper and uncooperative as Pyro had been.

First he helped his young friend into the long navy blue sweatpants. Then while the boy whined about that, he pulled the long-sleeve tee-shirt over his head gently. Remy tried to remove it immediately but the phrase and pattern caught his red-and-black eyes. The patterns were the suits of cards (hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs) bordering the collar, sleeves, waist line, and pant leg bottoms. The phrase was hard for the four-year-old to read at all much less upside down.

"What's it say?" He asked curiously.

"It says "A dollar won is sweeter than a dollar earned."" Piotr said with a smile at how well it fit the teenage version of this particular four-year-old. The one who was always betting and gambling.

Apparently the four-year-old understood it too for he grinned, amused. But he frowned as Piotr encased his hands in thick black gloves and forced thick socks onto his feet.

"What dis fo'?" he scowled. "It ain' dat cold!"

Piotr smiled gently. "Do you want your bed to explode as the shampoo and crayon did earlier Remy?"

The four-year-old's eyes widened. Apparently, unlike Tabitha and Bobby, Remy was not quite so thrilled with his newfound ability. It scared him, and with good reason. It seemed dangerous to be exploding things when you didn't want to. Especially when you almost hurt your very best friend in the process. So the child shook his head.

"Good. Then you must refrain from being able to touch the bed or bedding with your hands or feet lest an explosion happen."

Piotr worked on getting each of the kids into their beds. This proved to be a difficult feat even with the guard rails up.

"This is no bed!" Pyro wailed. "The walls too shot (short)!" Piotr understood that back when he was two he must have still been sleeping in a crib but not too much could be done now.

"This is a bed." He said gently. "It is a bed for boys who are not babies and therefore cannot sleep in a cradle or crib."

The boy nodded, not really understanding but if the big tall man was telling him it was a bed, he figured it must be a bed. He flopped onto the pillows and was surprised to find that they were soft and enveloped his head. The bedding was a bright blue with flame trim and he felt comfortable with it even if it wasn't what he had at home.

Piotr turned to Remy and hoisted the four-year-old into the bed next to Pyro's. He too felt oddly comfortable in black and red bedding with cards printed all over that he felt he had never seen.

On Pyro's other side, Ray had just forced Bobby into a bed with ice blue bedding and was proceeding to threaten him with the baby leash if he tried to escape one more time.

On Bobby's side was Kurt, snuggling happily into plain red and blue reversible bedding already sound asleep. A little further on, Freddy was softly snoring in his own bed with thick brown blankets. At the side of the room farthest from Remy, Scott yawned and pulled his navy blue blanket up to his chin and rolled over to fall asleep.

Lance had finished cleaning up Toad for the final time that night and wrapped the very small child, who was now sporting a pale blue t-shirt and fresh diaper, in a soft baby blanket and tucked him into bed. Then the teenage guys went to go get ready for bed themselves, as the little ones fell asleep one by one.

In with the girls, Kitty had fallen asleep already so Amanda gently woke her up and helped her into the bed with fluffy pink pillows and blankets.

"Night." She said softly and lay back on the pillows.

"Good night Kitty." Amanda said softly as the little girl closed her eyes.

Suddenly the two-year-old's sparkling blue eyes opened wide. She sat up and reached into the pillow case and pulled out a tattered, pink, stuffed, teddy bear.

"Bee (how she says bear but it happens to be the name of her teddy bear)!" She squealed in delight. "Mine!" She informed everyone else in the room as she hugged the toy tight.

"Ah don' think that's yahs Kitty." Rogue said gently. "Whoever owns it might let ya burrow (borrow) it though."

"My Bee." Kitty said crossly. She held the toy close as if to protect it. "Bee make me no ascared (scared) of the dark. Need her!"

Wanda rolled her eyes. She knew that it was Kitty's favorite stuffed bear even as a seventeen year old.

"Well, you can have it tonight Kitty," Amanda said gently. Then she helped Tabitha up into the bed that had neon purple bedding with hot pink polka dots and electric blue stripes.

"Don't wanna go bed." The girl scowled.

"Why not?" Amanda sighed.

"Cuz Tabby not eben..." She yawned. "A bit sweepy (sleepy)."

Amanda smiled and pulled the blanket up. "Don't you want to have full energy to be a super hero?"

"Hewoes (heroes) no sweep!" Tabby frowned.

"Yes they do. Or else they'd be tired and cranky and wouldn't be good heroes."

Tabitha thought about it for a moment. She tilted her head to the side and bit her lip. "Weally?"

"Really." Amanda smiled. The young blonde shrugged and closed her eyes.

Rogue climbed up into her own bed, which was on Kitty's other side, closest to the wall. After seeing Kitty and Tabitha's bedding she was slightly concerned but then she smiled and burrowed into the soft black bedding with little hunter green stars.

She popped her out of the blanket and lay it on the fluffy pillow.

"Night." She said wearily, rubbing her eyes in a display of her exhaustion.

"Good night Marie." Wanda smiled and gently tucked the blankets around the child so she wouldn't get cold.

Jubilee stood at the bed on Tabitha's other side, smiling as she pulled a dark purple baby blanket up around Amara who was already sound asleep.

"What?" Wanda asked irritably.

"Nothing." The girl smirked. "Don't worry, I was just thinking."

Wanda rolled her eyes and looked at Rahne who seemed to be having issues of her own with Jean.

"I can't go asleep!" The red-headed three-year-old wailed. "Mother always sings me asleep! An' Sarah leabs the radio on so we have music all night. An' our kitty cat Mr. Whiskers comes an' purps (purrs) an' sleeps at my feets!"

Rahne groaned. "We don't have a cat." She spat at the thought of a feline in her territory.

Jean looked sad. "No Mr. Whiskers?"

A caninish grin appeared on Rahne's face. "No Mr. Whiskers."

Jean started sniffling.

"Oh dun' cry now lass!" Rahne frowned. "Jean really, please dun' do this. Aye am sorry yer pet isn' here but there isn' too much t' be done 'bout it now."

Jean whimpered. "No moosic (music)?"

Rahne smiled. "Ah that I kin do Jean." She turned on a small portable stereo and put in a soundtrack from the movie Anastasia on quietly to play for a while.

Jean smiled and turned over in the pale lavender blankets that were on the bed for her. They reminded her very much of the bedding and carpet and curtains in her own bedroom at home.

The older girls went to get ready for bed and they turned to get the lights. Suddenly a terrified voice spoke up.

"What're you doin'?" The girl cried. "Don' turn the lights out!"

"Marie?!" Wanda asked crinkling her nose. She turned and looked at the small girl whose emerald eyes were as wide as saucers as she stood up in her bed, leaning on the guard rails. "What's wrong?"

"Don' turn the lights out." She repeated, terrified. She shook her head. "Please don'!"

"What? Why not?" Amanda asked gently.

The little girl shook her head and bit her bottom lip. "Cuz if yah do...they'll get me!"

The older girls shared a look of confusion and concern. "Who?" Wanda asked gently.

"The bad things!" Rogue said pleadingly. "Don' turn out the light! Pease don'!"

"What bad things?" Jubilee asked curiously.

"Ah can' tell yah that!" Rogue frowned. "Cuz Ah don' even really know...But Mama said they'd come if Ah was ever 'way from her or 'lone in the dark at night!"

"Poor kid." Wanda said coaxingly. "Rahne? Could you stay in here with her until we're all set please?"

The girl nodded and turned into her wolf body. She hopped onto the bed and put her head on Rogue's knee.

The other girls got ready for bed and talked a bit about the recent events. "Why is Rogue so scared of the dark?" Amanda asked. "And what do you think she thinks'll come after her?"

"What's coming after who?" Lance asked in concern as the girls entered the danger room.

"Rogue's scared of the dark Lance." Wanda explained. "Okay no she's terrified because she thinks something bad will get her."

Lance frowned in concern. "And you don't know why?" The girls shook their heads. "Poor girl. She's always had nightmares and she's always refused to answer questions about things she says in her sleep. Maybe a lamp or something would help her."

Amanda nodded. "Good idea. But I really have to get home. Since it's Saturday, curfew is 12:30 and I have a twenty minute drive home. I'll come again tomorrow after church okay?"

"Um ok I guess. Thank you so much for your help Amanda. I appreciate it. Now its 11:55 so you really better go. Just one thing...when does church get out tomorrow?"

Amanda laughed. "12:00. And really don't mention it. I don't mind helping friends baby-sit but it would be better if my boyfriend wasn't a two-year-old..." She trailed off with a sigh.

"I feel your pain girl." Lance sighed remembering he had the same predicament. "Get home, have a nice morning with your family and see you after noon." She smiled and left.

Wanda looked at Lance with a mildly worried expression. Jubilee understood she needed to talk to him and headed back into where the girls were quartered. "Lance, you said its five of midnight? My brother still hasn't graced us with his presence...I'm really getting nervous now..." Wanda frowned. "It's not like him at all to stay away so long. Usually when he's in a bad mood he makes everyone else miserable too because misery loves company or something like that."

Lance frowned. "I'm sure he's okay...To be honest I'm a bit edgy too. He's been away too long. He's probably just trying to make us get nervous so he can rub our noses into the fact that no matter what we say we do care about him." Lance smiled shakily.

"Or he's off at some girlfriend's house no doubt." Wanda snarled in disgust.

"Wanda, Pietro doesn't have girlfriends." Lance rolled his eyes. "He has dates. Many of them but they are meaningless. Just dates."

Wanda frowned at the thought of her brother's loyalty and commitment issues. "Yeah now that I think about it you are right." She yielded.

"He'll get here when he wants." Lance smiled. "He's almost a legal adult. He knows how to take care of himself for at least one night. I promise if he isn't home tomorrow we'll go look for him but it is so late now..."

Wanda nodded. "I understand. And I am probably overreacting." She smirked.

Lance nodded. "Good. Now lets get back to the issue at hand. Something, I don't know what, but something, tells me this is going to be one of the toughest nights of any of our lives."

"Lance! Johnny Gotta go potty!"

"Lance! Remy firsty (thirsty)!"

"Wanda! Tabitha frowed (throwed) a piwow (pillow) at me!"

"Jean lyin' Wanda! Tabby no do! It misseded (missed) her by a nile (mile)!"

Wanda grimaced. "Hm could it be the same thing telling me that? Or is it just the mini-mutants?"

****

Hilo it's me again. So what did you think? I am sure questions are burning in your heads now and before I get a hailstorm all (or at least the large majority) will be explained in chapters yet to come. The thirteen Swedish Ninja-like Swedish Monkeys that have been hand selected to take in new reviews for this chapter eagerly await your contributions.

School starts on September 1st for me so hopefully I can get back on a better writing schedule.

On a side note, if you read this I would appreciate A) a review; and B) I would love for you to check out my second and less sugary sweet attempt at fanfiction. It is going to be jam-packed with more angst than this one and it is called 24 hours. Thank you and remember to review. I honestly don't care if I get a two-word review as long as it tells me that people are reading this.


	13. A POWER TRIP

**Aloha! How's it goin'? In case y' didn' know dis be chapter 13 of Back in Diapers. Technically it should be chapter fourteen but decided chapter one was "an illegal author's note". Thus, they pulled it offline. So the 13 party from last time was a little early. Anyway... If you meant to end up here, cool beans. Enjoy the story. And if you accidentally clicked the link why not stay a while and check it out. I love getting reviews (new readers are ALWAYS welcome). Its been quite a while since my last update and a lot has happened. For one thing the much-welcomed escape from the prison/school/whatever has ended and they made me go back. My new classes are not as understanding about this as one might hope but I do have a few of my teachers on my side. So I will do this when I can.**

**This is something I've never done. A friend of my family just passed away. This chapter is in remembrance of Pam Sarrubbi's heart of gold. We miss you, Pam.**

**In memoriam, the trained assassin penguins come back for this chapter. Pam's favorite animals were penguins.**

**So thank you for reading.**

**EviltwinAlix-** Glad you like it. smirks Luv ya too sis.

**Ishandahalf-** Yeah that would've been cute...Glad this endlessly amuses you. And it is my pleasure to warm your heart to kids.

**bobtheheadlesschicken-** Glad you like it. Hah. Not too sad, I try and make it understandable. By any chance are you in any way associated with Bob the feral Blowerfish? He's a friend of mine...

**howlerdrode-** I'm getting better? That's good to hear. I love writing this. Yeah, I gave the poor corner a break from Jean. After all how much can one place take? Hmmm, maybe, maybe not....Yep Nice and slow on the front of discovery. What three-year-old WANTS nightmares? The kid's had a pretty rough life. She has her nightmares. With Mystique as a mother, who wouldn't? And she has reasons to fear the dark. Her routine of fearlessness has always just been an act. Yep, Superman. I did honestly consider Silver Surfer but I don't know much about him or his costume and I felt more people would recognize Superman. Pietro will make a comeback. (At least in THIS story anyway) Do not worry about him. Wanda's memory wasn't stimulated. The explanation being that Mastermind only messed with the memories of what happened from the time Magneto left her in the asylum and on. So any childhood or the rare infancy memory actually happened. Or at least it did cuz I say it did. I don't know much about the Maximoff twins' childhood from the comix. Oh yeah, stress levels are at an all time Maximum. Oh what I have planned will be soooo much better than camp for them...Glad its losing the saccharine edge.

**xmengirlzrule-** Glad you like it. Thank you.

**Lance Avalanche Alvers-** I left out a lot last time. Thanks for catching that. I'm a wee bit scatter-brained on occasion...OO

**Thessaly D-** Glad its getting better.

**ldypebsaby-** Glad you like it. Which cat? smirks mysteriously Hmmm, interesting? Wait and see.

**allie-** I liked that too. You should read more.

**Panther Pendragon-** Glad you like it. Yea, that's Mystique for ya.

**Hawkgal- **I adore your name. Glad you like it. Maybe I'll try it with Jean but not too much. I like doing the pre-K Romy. More baby Toad and Wanda? You got it! That seems to oddly fit Lance doesn't it? Well neither does she. Yeah but it makes ya love her all the more when she's being a sweetheart, doesn't it?

**X2P3-** Glad you love it. I'll work on faster updates but no promises. Don't worry I ain't stoppin'. I'm having way too much fun.

**SickmindedSucker-** Yeah probably. Adults ALWAYS find out...Thanks for the tip. Glad you liked it.

**Allie-** Glad you like it.

**BellaKat- (x 2) **Glad you like it. You work there? Cool! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend anyone who works there. The girl I based Becky on got on my nerves and that was just my way of taking revenge on her for not showing up for team practice. I know the employees are much more friendly and helpful than that. I really did not mean it to be offensive.

**Aqua Angel 11223-** Glad you like it.

**SperryDee-** Glad you loved it.

**Persephone-** Yeah the power choice thing is a tough choice. No they didn't have to be from the already present mutants. Its fine to make 'em up. Mine personally were shape shifting, computer speed brain, and empathy. I'm glad you liked all the special 13 stuff. Thanks that means a lot to hear. Glad you like it. Rogue seems to be voicing my opinions on a lot of things. I've never been fond of the Cinderella fairy tale myself. I've always seen her as a pretty blonde who fell for a guy for his looks and royalty. I mean, the major conflict of the movie is she can't go to a party. Come on! Girls are not that shallow! Or at least not ALL girls. No you're probably right. She probably didn't give the local woodcutter the time of day. Same goes for the local butcher and baker and candlestick maker. Oh I know Barq's and Sunkist sodas are high in caffeine, but the three I used were slightly more caffienated and not many people would believe that root beer and orange soda would have caffeine.

**jamais-jamais-terre: **Glad you like it.

**Mandevilla-** Glad you like it.

**the Borogroves-** Glad you like it. Sorry about the lot of French. English is my native tongue too but I just adore the French language (not to mention the very beau Remy LeBeau who speaks it...)

**Buteo Jamaicensis-** Hiya Red-tailed-hawk. Of course I know what that means! That is my favorite bird in the world and the basis of my pseudonym! Glad you like the story.

**Lunarious- **Thanks for lettin' me know. Glad you like what you saw.

**Boom-Boom13-** Lol. Glad you like it. Oh yeah things will be funny when they aren't pip-squeaks any more. I already have some fun stuffs planned. Ah, we've found another Pietro fan I see. Don't worry he's okay. (Well in this story anyway). I have a soft spot for him too, but I don't much like him for his looks. He really is a scrawny teenage albino. How many girls would really be interested in a guy who could pass as like, 60 and in awesome shape? And oh yeah Rems and Johnny definitely top him. You have good taste. Glad you like the story.

**Masau**- Oh I didn't mean to get you in trouble. But I'm glad you like it and find it that funny.

**someone-** Okay...

**EmeraldKatsEye-** Yeah they are as cute as buttons. I've always wondered though, how are buttons cute? Puppies or penguins or monkeys sure but I've never seemed to see the cuteness of buttons. Actually, if you wanna know the God's honest truth, I'm still playing that by ear. I'm torn between the pluses and minuses of them knowing and not knowing. So y'all know as much bout that as me at this time. Hey that's my reviewing phrase! LOL.

**cris the black cat of the black rose- **Cuz I'm the author, that's why. Glad you like it.

**Black Cat of the Black Rose- **Glad you like it. Hey, thanks for the compliments. I wanna do that someday. But I couldn't do this. Whispers To find the answer to why, read the disclaimer...

**Aphrodite- **Oh a Greek Goddess among us eh? Why can't ya see Rogue in poetry camp? She does poetry...well, I haven't exactly explored that aspect of her character in this I suppose but it does work while staying in Evo-verse character. Glad you liked the Versailles references. And the crayon fight. They were fun to write. And of course it had to be a black crayon. Naturally. Glad you liked it.

**Disclaimer:** I'm serious. The pink sock is still missing. Hence, I don't own the X-men or any other idea that was conceived by somebody else. So if you recognize it, chances are it isn't in my possession.

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

_Last time on X men Evolution: Pietro gets tossed out of the jeep and stands there looking thunderstruck. "Doggie!" Kitty squirms out of Lance's arms. "Don't tell anyone but...I'm kinda worried about him..." Wanda looks miserable "Hi Ms Monroe... Lance gulps. "Camp?...Yeah I'll drive them..." the kids eat pizza and then get put to bed after a struggle "_"_Lance! Johnny gotta go potty!" _"_Lance! Remy firsty (thirsty)!""Wanda! Tabitha frowed (throwed) a piwow (pillow) at me!" "Jean lyin' Wanda!"_

Wanda and Lance both sighed in agitation. They trudged to the rooms they were staying in and addressed the problems.

Wanda first dealt with the Jean and Tabitha argument by firmly telling them that it was bedtime and she didn't want a peep out of them unless it was important.

"G'a (gotta) go potty." Tabitha frowned. Wanda sighed and helped the girl to the bathroom. After ten minutes, the young blonde decided she didn't have to go anymore so back to bed she went. And naturally two minutes after she had been re put into bed she was whimpering to go again.

So Wanda resorted to slowly counting the prime numbers to soothe herself as she led the child back to the downstairs girls bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom, the bubbly little blonde started singing. She was two and didn't quite know the words so she was just making them up. "Mary had a li'l fan. Li'l fan, li'l fan. Mary had a li'l fan and its fleas were white like snow! Wanda? How can a fan get fleas? And why are they white?"

Wanda gritted her teeth. "One...two...three...five..."

"Twinkie twinkie (twinkle twinkle) liddle (little) cars. How I wonder what you are...Do peebles really wonder what cars is?"

"Seven...eleven...thirteen..." Wanda frowned, pausing slightly to think about the next prime number.

"One, two, give Tabby a shoe. Free, four, on the floor. Five, six, little chicks. Serven (seven) eight, open the gate...What comes after eight?" The girl called as she turned on the sink and Wanda hoped that meant she was done goofing off and singing.

"Oh well...um...eleventy, two, Tabby no see you. Sixteen, fourty-eleventy-billion, I no know words that rhyme wif billion!" The girl said in a singsong voice.

**"**Nineteen...twenty-three...twenty-seven-no-twenty-nine..." Wanda held a hand to her temple. Tabby opened the door and skipped out.

"All done." She grinned and skipped back to her bed. She was tucked in for the third time and stayed there. She yawned and Wanda sighed in relief as the little girl shut her eyes and started breathing evenly.

Wanda yawned herself. The other teenage girls had fallen asleep already. And it was late. She got ready to climb into her own bed as she looked around warily. She was never used to sharing a room, except when she was a baby but that was her twin brother, not a whole lot of other girls she didn't really know too well or a bunch of girls who were her age and older who were now infants.

She shook the unease off and sat on her bed. She surveyed the room one more time only to catch a glimpse of a set of emerald eyes studying her curiously. Rogue was sitting up in her bed and gazing around just as uncomfortably as Wanda previously had been.

"What is it Marie?" Wanda asked gently. The girl shrugged gently.

"Ah can' sleep." She looked down as if ashamed.

Wanda moved over to the young girl and smiled. "Are you scared?"

The young girl frowned and shook her head, but not before a moment's hesitation. Wanda knew she was being fed a line so she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe a teeny li'l bit." The girl admitted and moved a loose strand of her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "But ya can' tell nobody."

"Secret's safe with me." Wanda smiled gently.

"Pinky promise?" Rogue raised an eyebrow. She held out her hand with a solemn expression.

Wanda laughed and shook. "Okay. So what are you afraid of?"

The little girl looked edgy. "Bad things."

The seventeen-year-old waited for her to elaborate. "Mama says that if Ah ain' careful an' if Ah let mah guard down, bad things'll happen. An' she says that a lots a peoples want me cuz of mah skin curdition. An' she says she don' wanna lose me like she losed my li'l brother." She paused. "Ah never meeted him. He gotted dropped into a river in anover country. He was jus' a new baby. An' then Mama 'dopted me when Ah was two."

Wanda nodded. She was well aware of the story, as she had heard it before. She found it curious that this girl didn't even know her little brother was sleeping in the next room over. Or that she had been seeing him all day. On thinking about Kurt, she vaguely wondered why nobody had really freaked out about the blue fuzziness. She wondered if little kids were generally more unconcerned with things like that, or they thought he was cool.

"Well, You do have to go to sleep Marie." Wanda smiled. "You don't want to be cranky do you?"

The little girl frowned gently. "Mama's not here. Ah can't sleep. Somefin' bad might happen."

"I promise you nothing bad will happen Marie." Wanda sighed. "The boys are all in the next room. And nobody bad will get into the mansion."

Rogue closed her bright eyes halfway. "Ah juss gots a feewin' (feeling) tha' somefin' bad could happen at any time. Ah don' feel right..." She mumbled hesitantly.

Wanda was concerned. "What do you think might happen?"

"Dunno." Rogue shrugged. "Jus' gots a worry feelwin'."

Wanda figured that she should worry a bit about strange unexplained fear but she said nothing to the toddler. Instead she just tucked Rogue under the blanket.

"Don't worry kid. Just sleep. I promise everything will be fine tonight."

Rogue nodded and closed her eyes slowly. "G'nahght. (good night)." She mumbled sleepily.

Lance on the other hand was ready to scream. Some of the boys were being as difficult as possible.

First he decided to address Pyro. He escorted the boy to the bathroom and waited for what seemed like forever before the child discovered that he didn't have to use the bathroom at all.

On the way back to bed, he decided he wanted food. So Lance brought the whining red-head up to the kitchen and let him have a few crackers while he got Remy a glass of water.

They got back to the room to find Piotr trying to coax Kurt to come down from the light fixture on the ceiling. Lance groaned and realized that the boy had probably inadvertantly teleported up there.

He was apparently having a blast. He seemed to like heights and he found it very funny that nobody else could reach him. He chuckled and then slipped. He cried out in fear and accidentally teleported himself closer to the ground. With a muffled thump he landed in his bed and clapped.

"Fun! Do it 'gain!" He grinned impishly.

Lance released his breath. "No you won't do that again." He said sternly. "That was not funny. You scared me. Its bed time." He frowned and the boy looked down.

"I sowwy. (Sorry)." He pleaded for forgiveness as he turned large, pupil-less yellow eyes at his caretaker. "Was real fun. Didn' mean to do suffin' (something) bad." He crawled back under his blanket and lay his head on the pillow and grinned an adorable grin at Lance.

"Just go to sleep." Lance shook his head gently and smiled. The child frowned.

"Why?"

"Because its bed time."

"Why?"

"Because it's late and you need to sleep so you won't be tired." Lance said as his agitation rose.

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Lance snapped in a finalizing tone.

Kurt frowned and stuck out his tongue but he dealt with it and lay back down with a scowl.

Lance sighed and turned to Remy to hand the Cajun child the glass of water. The kid took it and drank it, but half ended up spilled down his front and all over the bed. As the cool water soaked through his pajamas, Remy yelped with surprise.

Lance groaned and led the kid to the bathroom to dry off and change his pajamas to the second set he had bought. He shuddered as he realized that tomorrow he was on laundry duty. A whole lot of toddlers made for about six times the usual amount, which was considerably a very large amount with close to thirty people living in the mansion.

Once Remy was all set, he wanted a snack. So Lance brought the kid up to the kitchen and gave him some crackers. The child happily munched away on his snack while Lance searched franticly for a bottle of Tylenol or Aspirin to relieve the headache that was building with the stress of this whole ordeal. He found none and made a mental note to stop at CVS tomorrow when he was out.

Finally he led Remy back to the room in which they were sleeping and helped the boy into the bed.

"Please go to sleep?" He begged.

Remy pondered the idea. Then He frowned. "Remy gotsa sneeze." He scrunched up his nose.

Lance hurried to the bathroom and brought back some tissue. "Here. Don't tell me you're getting sick on me. You're enough of a handful healthy."

The four-year-old blew his nose and then threw the tissue on the floor. "Not sick." He said defiantly. "An' don' y' git no ideas 'bout feedin' Remy no cod liber oil." He warned.

Lance laughed. "Cod liver oil?"

The boy nodded. "When Remy getted sick back home, Tantie Mattie uset' make Remy have nasty cod liber oil. An' broccoli." He frowned at the memory. "Promise Remy ain' sick. Just sneezed."

Lance smiled and affectionately ruffled the boy's hair. "Okay I'll take you're word for it."

"Don't!" Remy snapped as he threw his arms onto his head. "Remy not a chien. (dog). Y' ain' got no right t' pet him. Y' messin' up Remy's hair."

Lance chuckled. "Okay now please get to sleep."

Remy frowned. "Could Remy have anot'er drink? Won' spill dis un."

Lance nodded and turned to head to the kitchen. He returned with a sippi cup of water and smiled as he realized that the young boy had fallen asleep while waiting. So he shook his head and pulled the blanket over the toddler. He set the cup on the floor near the boy's bed and then headed to his own.

Just as he was about to fall back onto his pillows and drift into unconsciousness, a soft whimpering caught his ears. He immediately sat up and looked around in panic. He hurried over to Todd's bed turned crib and lifted his teammate up.

"Shh." He soothed. "What's wrong Toad?"

The infant hiccupped and spat up a little bit of the sickly green slime that came as part of his mutation. He looked up to the older boy with a look of confusion.

Lance sighed and frowned. This was going to be a little harder now that he would be secreting slime hourly. But breathing couldn't be too easy with his throat clogging with the stuff.

"You were enough trouble when you weren't a baby Toad." Lance sighed. The young boy in his arm burped and expelled a little slime with minor difficulty, all the while looking frustrated. Lance pondered what could help and then decided a bit of decongestant might help.

Gently, he transported the unfortunate child to the bathroom and fished around in the medicine cabinet for cough syrup while juggling his friend in the other arm. Triumphantly he headed back up to the kitchen.

He placed Todd in a high chair and searched for a baby bottle. He found one and poured some milk into it from the jug in the fridge. He stirred in half a teaspoon of cough syrup into the contents in hopes of decongesting the child's throat.

He gently held his friend and helped hold the bottle as the young boy drank greedily.

"You like that?" Lance asked, amused. The reply was a quiet burp and a smile. "Careful, don't make yourself sick." Lance laughed. When the boy finished, Lance made his way back to the danger room. "Now be a good little menace and go to sleep." Lance smiled and placed the child back into the blankets and turned to go back to bed. The only issue of that was after half a bottle of milk, a fresh diaper was a necessity within a half-hour.

In the morning, Wanda woke up to a baby crying. For a moment she was disoriented.

"Pietro? How long has there been a baby here?" She mumbled as she pulled her pillow over her head. "Shut it off!"

Jubilee giggled. "Wanda, Pietro isn't here and we can't shut Amara off. She's hungry."

Wanda blinked the sleep from her eyes and rolled into a sitting position. "Oh...I'm not at the boarding house?" She felt vaguely stupid as her brain caught up with her. She smiled sheepishly and climbed out of bed.

She sighed and slowly trudged out of the planning room and made her way up to the kitchen. She got up and was halfway through making herself a cup of tea before Lance entered the room with a bewildered expression.

He shook his head. "Nice outfit Wanda."

Confused she looked at what she had come upstairs in. A bright blush crawled to her cheeks as she realized she was still wearing her red silk pajamas.

Lance smirked. "I'd recommend changing."

Wanda frowned a little and then she caught a glimpse of herself in the chrome of the refrigerator and noticed her short hair wild and unmade up face. "Okay. I get the point."

He chuckled, as he had seen her in pajamas before back at the boarding house. But it was still weird.

Wanda shrugged impishly. She took her cup of tea back downstairs to change and help get the little kids ready.

The older girls were all up and dressed and working on the little ones. Rahne had young Amara sitting in her lap drinking tentatively from a sippi-cup with help from the older girl at occasional intervals. Jubilee was playing with Jean's hair, while Kitty sat watching intently. Tabitha was up and attempting to untie her shoes on her bed.

Wanda raised a questioning eyebrow as she looked for the other girl.

Jubilee rolled her eyes and nodded to the lump of blankets on Rogue's bed that hadn't yet moved. "Good luck with her." The Asian girl smirked as she twisted Jean's red hair into a loose braid.

Wanda shook her head and took her clothes to the bathroom and quickly changed. She reentered and Kitty was giggling as Jubilee pulled her thick brown hair into pigtails. The tiny girl played with the bottom of her pink t-shirt and then toyed with the hem of her denim shorts. Tabitha was now up on Rogue's bed gently prodding the other girl.

She nodded her blonde head with a grim expression. "She be dead."

Rahne sniffed. "Nah she's breathin' Tabby." The Scottish girl assured the toddler.

Jubilee frowned. "We have to get her up soon. Lance has to take us to camp and we have to be there by noon."

Wanda purposefully strode over to the sleeping girl's bed. She gently put a hand on Rogue's shoulder and gently shook her. "Ro-Marie, its time to wake up."

"Uh-uh." A muffled reply sounded from under the blanket and pillow.

"You have to get up Marie." Wanda shook the girl a little firmer.

"Ah don' wanna go ta peacoo (preschool)." The child pleaded.

"Come on Marie. You have to get up. I won't make you go to preschool but you have to get out of bed." Wanda said sternly. She pulled the blanket off the girl and the child hissed as the light met her face so she stuck her head under the pillow.

"Ah don' wanna. Ya can make meh!"

Wanda smirked and gently tickled the girl's side on impulse. The result was an instantaneous shriek and Rogue squirmed away while giggling.

"Hey knock it off! Quit it! Ah'm up, Ah'm up! See Mama? Ah'm gittin' up!"

Wanda froze mid tickle and the girl sat up in her bed with wide green eyes.

"This isn' mah room...an yah mos' definary (definitely) naht (not) ma mama..." Confusion dripped from the girl as she tried to figure the whole ordeal out. She suddenly remembered yesterday and who this was.

"Sorry Ah called ya ma mama Wanda." She frowned. "Ah fo' gitted where Ah was." She cast her eyes down as if expecting to be hollered at.

Wanda smiled and half-hugged the young girl soothingly. "It's okay. I've been called worse than mama." But vaguely she pondered if it was a good thing to be confused with Mystique.

She helped the girl get up and dressed and when she went to brush the girl's soft hair, she was met with a new shock. Wanda felt her jaw drop. She turned to Jubilee and Rahne with a shocked expression. "How long has Rogue's hair been curly?"

Both girls turned and looked at the three-year-old who put a small hand to her hair nervously.

"Mah hay's (hair's) alays bin like this."

"No. As long as I've known you your hair has been straight." Wanda said in confusion. She looked at the other girls who confirmed it with a nod. Not that they had known Rogue much longer than she did but they'd never seen her hair curly.

"Maybe she straightened it?" Rahne suggested with a disinterested shrug.

The little girl shrugged nonchalantly. Wanda frowned and tentatively brushed it out. Then she and all the other girls headed up to breakfast.

The boys were already mostly there. Most of them looking haggard and exhausted from the crying infant they had shared a room with. Suddenly Sam entered the room, cursing lightly.

"What's wrong?" Jubilee asked in concern.

Sam gave her a glare that would make Rogue proud and scowled at Scott who had come in after him and sheepishly climbed into the vacant chair next to Jean.

Ray laughed. "Well Jubes, seems Summers was a chronic bed wetter as a kid."

Sam glowered. "Well, I wouldn't call twice chronic Ray." Roberto smirked.

"Ah hate all o' yah." Sam frowned. "Ah can' believe that kid. First in the middle of the night...then again this mornin'." Jubilee chuckled. "Yah laugh Jubilee. But yah didn't have to clean up after the rotten brat."

"Come on guys, you know he can't help it." Rahne scolded. "He did get brain damage after all. That's why he can't control his powers."

The boy from Kentucky gave her an agitated glance. "He's never had bathroom problems before."

"He's only four." Jubilee commented.

"So? Who isn't potty trained at four? Mah sisters were all trained before they were two."

They couldn't talk about it any more because the kids were getting fussy and demanding food.

So Lance, yawning every few minutes, threw on some instant oatmeal (the instant ginger and maple kind (LOL ten points to whoever gets the allusion)). And then gave each toddler one of the bowls that somebody had washed after the fiasco of lunch yesterday. He slumped into his chair after sliding each teen a bowl. He put his head in his arms and hovered between consciousness and sleep while the children patiently waited for Piotr to hand them a sippi-cup or bottle of orange juice.

Lance stifled a huge yawn. "I hate Forge." He declared as his eyes appeared, disappeared and reappeared at half-mast. "Somebody call the stupid professor. I am too tired."

Then an idea occurred to him. His eyes fell on the empty coffeepot. "Caffeine!" He murmured and trudged like a zombie toward the countertop. He had a fiendish gleam in his eye as he brewed it. Everyone in the room watched him curiously. When it was finished he cackled and went to take a gulp.

"Caffeine good. Coffee has caffeine...Lance need caffeine!" He murmured and brought the mug of black French roast coffee to his mouth.

Everyone moved slightly away with looks of mild fear. Most of the toddlers looked at him with wide eyes. Pyro was giggling and Todd was ready to cry again.

Rogue leaned over to Remy and whispered in his ear. "Does dat scare yah ta?"

Her friend nodded slightly. "Yeah dat is a li'l scary. Mais y' ain' seed nuttin' til y' seed mon pére in de mornin'."

As the liquid entered the older boy's mouth a comical scene unfolded. The look on his face was priceless. He mumbled something that vaguely resembled 'please excuse me' and spat the coffee unceremoniously into the sink.

"Dat was de nastiest t'ing I eber done." Lance informed them as he continued to spit. "God only knows how Wolverine and Rogue can even put that junk into their mouths."

Ray snickered. "Dude, three words for you...cream and sugar."

Lance frowned and shook his head. "I doubt that even fifty bags of sugar would help that junk." He stalked over to the fridge and grabbed a can of Coke that had been left over from the party.

He chugged the whole thing in a few gulps and smiled. "Now there's a good caffeine fix." He nodded in content.

Wanda chuckled and shook her head. "And you say I'm crazy looking in the morning, huh Lance?"

"Did you have to put up with a shrieking infant at all hours of the night Wanda?" He gave her a pointed glower.

She shook her head, still vaguely amused. "No. Geez I pity Pryde if she ever marries you. Waking up to that display of insanity might scare her soul off."

Lance glowered. He ignored the statement and turned to look at the toddlers who had grown bored and decided breakfast was more important than the crazy person who served it to them.

As usual, Freddy had dug in enthusiastically. Kurt too was gulping down the oatmeal as if he'd been starved for the past week. Bobby had used his powers to freeze it into one block and this apparently amused him very much. Tabby was dropping gobs of the stuff on the floor, and every third handful made its way to her mouth. Occasionally she'd randomly throw a little at Jean, Scott, or Piotr. Pyro had shoved both his hands into the mushy cereal and was attempting to sculpt it like clay. He decided he was hungry and shoved a small handful into his mouth and then went back to building a tower with it. Piotr was patiently attempting to spoon at least a little into Toad's mouth. Wanda had given up and was still wary of feeding him lest she be used as target practice again.

Jubilee had Amara quietly accepting the food though half of it had ended down the child's bib. Jean sat so straight it was unreal as she acted like a lady from colonial times and never slurped the oatmeal from her spoon. Her elbows never touched the chair or her tray and after each bite, she daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin, while throwing the occasional sneer when a bit of food hit her or landed near. Scott was likewise eating with the spoon as opposed to his hands and fingers but he wasn't quite so robotic.

Kitty was apprehensively stirring the food. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry but she was used to her mommy feeding only cinnamon apple oatmeal when it was oatmeal for breakfast.

Lance noticed this and looked over at her. "What's wrong, pretty Kitty?"

The little girl bit her lip in concentration. "I neber eated vis stuff afore." She admitted. He smiled.

"You never had oatmeal?" She shook her head.

"No, I have it jus' vat Mommy and Daddy omwy (only) gib me abble an cninamint (apple and cinnamon)."

"I bet you'd like this one too." He smiled. "Just try it."

He offered her a spoonful and she timidly accepted just a small bit of it. "What do you think?"

She shrugged and took the spoon to feed herself. He smiled and affectionately ruffled her hair. Unlike Remy, she smiled and didn't reprimand him for messing up her hair.

Lance turned to the final two. He was just in time to witness Rogue handing Remy her bowl. He intercepted it and placed it back onto her tray.

"Marie, you have to eat." She raised an eyebrow and frowned. She shook her head stubbornly.

"Not humgry. (hungry)." She crossed her arms.

"You can't just give all your food to Remy Marie." Lance sighed.

"Why not?"

"Because you need to eat it."

"Why? Ah don' wan' it."

"You'll get sick. And I don't want that."

"Why?" Rogue asked with a superior smirk.

"Because, you're my friend and my responsibility."

"Ah ain' ya sponsitivity." She scowled. "Remy's mah fend not ya."

Lance frowned. "Marie, like it or not, I am taking care of you. And you can't give all your food from every meal to Remy, whether he is or isn't your friend."

Rogue frowned. "Why can' Ah give it ta Remy?"

"Because its your food."

"But Ah don' want it."

"Do you want to make Remy sick?" He challenged and she froze.

"How could food make 'im sick?"

"Well, not so much sick as overweight. You don't want him to get fat do you?"

Rogue shrugged and looked over to her friend who seemed scandalized by the thought. "No..." Rogue sighed.

She reluctantly took her spoon and went to eat but she stubbornly dropped it.

"What now?" Lance asked irritably.

"Can' make meh eat." She taunted in a singsong voice.

"Please?" He tried pathetically and received a giggle in response. He looked to Wanda who was smirking. "You're a girl, you make her eat."

Wanda looked affronted. Rogue giggled and shook her head. "Ain' gunna eat no matteh what."

"C'mon Wanda, she's going to starve herself and I don't want to explain her death by self inflicted starvation." Lance begged with wide eyes.

Wanda rolled her eyes. She moved the bowl off of the tray and removed the tray from the highchair. Rogue looked triumphant, thinking the older people had given up. She was surprised when the older girl didn't set her on the floor, but instead sat down and pulled the chair closer to the table where the bowl sat.

"Ah wanna be down." She said sternly and tried to wriggle down to get away.

Wanda held her firmly. "If you spit up on me like Todd did, I will personally ensure that you are forced into a frilly pink Cinderella dress Marie." She threatened playfully but the look on the little girl's face showed absolute repulsion and fear because something told her Wanda was 100 serious.

"Much better." Wanda commented as Rogue sat still. "Now you have to eat." She gripped the spoon and filled it with a little cereal and brought it to the young child's mouth, fully expecting resistance or a tantrum. But to her great surprise, there wasn't even a dirty look thrown her way. After three bites, Rogue took the spoon on her own and fed herself. Wanda raised an eyebrow. She turned to Lance and the others, all of whom were shocked. She felt her heart go out to the child who kept sending terrified sidelong glances at Wanda as if wondering where on her body she could keep a dress.

When the bowl was empty, which happened considerably quickly, she cast wide eyes up to Wanda.

"Good job Marie." She smiled and the toddler gave a half smile.

"Kin Ah be scused now?"

Wanda nodded and released the girl. The three-year-old hopped down and stood by Remy's chair until he was done. When the kids were done, Lance ordered the ones who were going to camp to head out with their stuff to the X-Van. Then he had Wanda and Piotr shepherd the kids back down into the danger room to watch a movie or something.

Irritably, he headed out to the garage and hopped into the driver's seat of the van. Roberto sat in the passenger side, Jubilee and Rahne were in the next seat back, and Sam, Ray, and Roberto had the seat in back of that. Their gear was all stuffed into the two way back seats. They were color coded so nobody ended up with the wrong bags. And Lance tried to arrange it so the colors that were together were the ones going to the same place.

"Okay, First stop, Ray and Roberto, sports camp. Electric blue with yellow trim for Ray and black and orange for Roberto?" Lance verified as the two boys nodded. "Okay and then Jamie and Sam, Boy Scout Camp? Spiderman bags, Jamie and blue and yellow for Sam?" Both boys thought and grinned while nodding. "So that leaves Jubilee and Rahne for Girl Scouts? Yellow bags Jubilee and gray for Rahne?" The girls nodded. Then Lance took off.

In the mansion, the kids were pretty much subdued. They watched Lady and The Tramp and Pokémon the first movie and Wanda was elected to read them a story.

"C'mon Wanda!" Tabitha pleaded. "We love you! We do anyfing for you! Just read us story!" The girl bounced around while Wanda looked frightened. The kids really wanted her to read them a story. But the whole flocking around her terrified her.

"Why not Wanda?" Evan asked gently as he lounged on a chair. "They seem to really like you, girl. And they want a story."

Wanda shot him an annoyed look. "You read them a story then."

Evan shrugged. "They want you to."

The toddlers pleaded and all twelve simultaneously turned on puppy dog faces. They knew before she said anything that she had given in. She sighed and lowered her eyes and they sent up a crazed cheer. "What story?" She asked weakly.

The troupe of toddlers quickly told her any story would be cool. She looked through the collection of books that Piotr and Jamie and Evan had bought for the amusement of the children. She finally grabbed a stack of choices that looked good and moved over to the center of the danger room and sat on a pillow off one of the guy's beds. She was amazed at how quickly they flocked around her and sat in a semi-neat, semi-circle. Toad and Pyro curled up at her sides and Rogue climbed into her lap to see the pictures.

Wanda was definitely shocked at this motion. But she didn't say anything. She started reading the story of Beauty and the Beast to the kids, each of them being a proper audience and oohing and ahhing at appropriate intervals.

By the end the children clapped and calmly waited for the next story. Wanda sent Evan and Piotr futile look. They shrugged and she sighed and picked up a Dr. Seuss book. It was the one called "Are you My Mother?" This seemed to catch the interest of the toddlers. She felt vaguely like a kindergarten teacher but she didn't seem to mind.

Piotr smiled gently at the sight.

"It seems so natural doesn't it?" Evan asked quietly.

"What?" The tall Russian asked with mild confusion.

"Wanda and the kids, man. Dude, she's like their mother or something. She's a natural at it." The seventeen-year-old stated in awe. "And somehow, she looks awesome doing it..."

Piotr's cornflower blue eyes widened in surprise as a smile of amusement appeared on his face. "You like her, yes?"

Evan was shaken from his staring session. He looked vaguely startled. "Huh! What?! No way! She's...she's Pietro's twin sister! I grew up knowing her before...well, she went away to that asylum! There is no way I could like her!" He panicked. "But...you have to admit, she's grown up gorgeous..."

"Are all Americans such bad liars?" Piotr raised an amused eyebrow.

Evan choked and looked away. "I knew her when we were kids. Not much older than Toad over there next to her. She was always the third wheel because she's a girl. There is no possible way I could like her. It would be weird you know?"

Piotr nodded. "Yet you are still taken with her looks and you want to like her." Piotr said shrewdly.

"Aw go back to being the silent tin man, big guy." Evan scowled. He went back to watching Wanda read the short book. Nerves danced around his stomach. Did he like her?

After the story was done she looked up to find him staring. "Its your turn Daniels." She stood up after gently removing the toddlers from her lap and depositing the books into his hands.

"You're better with kids Wanda." He whined. "You make it look so easy...but they like you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe they like you better. Don't you like Evan kids?" She asked the toddlers who were still flocking around her feet.

Jean immediately frowned but then thought for a moment and nodded. Scott shrugged. Most of the kids didn't care much for him but if he was going to read to them or play with them they'd judge on that.

Tabitha grinned. She threw herself to the older boy and hugged his knees. "Lub Eban!" She giggled.

Evan looked nothing short of terrified of the tiny girl's response. "See? She gets all weird around me." He said pointedly.

Wanda smiled softly. "Daniels, she's just being affectionate. Its her way of saying she likes you." She gently lifted the two-year-old onto Evan's lap where he proceeded to look confused as she giggled and cuddled close while sucking her thumb.

Wanda shook her head in amusement as she knelt to pick up Todd who was pulling at her pant leg for attention. "Don't act so scared. She can't hurt you. She's just a little girl."

He gave her a disbelieving look.

"Ouch!" Wanda cried as baby Toad decided her dangling cross earring was a toy. He yanked it really hard and of course it caused its wearer pain. "Toad, my earrings are not for you to pull. And neither is my hair." She said sternly as the infant reached a fist up to her head. She gently frowned and put him back on the floor, but not before he managed to tug a handful of her hair on the way down.

"Oh yeah, I see what you mean. Little kids are completely harmless. Right." Evan rolled his eyes as Wanda rubbed the back of her neck where the amphibious infant had pulled her hair.

"He's younger than she is."

"Oh and that makes me feel a whole lot better. With age comes better aim and stronger grip. Plus she's insane." He gestured to the girl in his lap who was now contentedly humming some unfamiliar tune.

"They aren't all so bad." Wanda argued as Pyro held up his arms with a look that pleaded to be picked up.

"Up peez!" He begged. She smiled and picked him up and he squealed with joy.

Then he cuddled close with his head under her chin, babbling softly.

"See?" Wanda insisted. "They can be little angels."

"Aww-how-cute." A sneering voice came from the doorway. "If-it-isn't-the-happy-Mommy-and-Daniels-the-Daddy. How-revolting."

"Pietro?" Wanda asked shocked.

"Well, who-else-would-be-here?" He smirked. "Were-you-expecting-maybe-Elvis?"

"I don't know whether to hug you or strangle you." Wanda warned. She walked over to him, fury in her eyes. "Where exactly have you been? Gone all night long, no note, no call! All I know is you and Lance got into a fight and you were too pig-headed to even let us know you weren't dead in some ditch because of some psychotic mutant-hater!" Her voice raised furiously.

"Wanda, I'm-sorry. I-was-pig-headed-and-stupid." He looked down. "I-needed-some-time-to-think. Things-have-been-totally-crazy-lately."

The look of anger on her face softened slightly to one of concern. "Where were you?"

"The-old-boarding-house." He mumbled as if ashamed. "I-spent-the-night-in-my-old-room, going-through-some-of-the-junk-that-got-left-behind. Anyway-where's-Lance. I-need-to-talk-to-him?"

"He's out, bringing the kids to camp." Wanda smirked at the expression on his face. "Don't tell me you forgot." She laughed teasingly.

"Camp? They-went-to-camp? With-the-crisis-we-have-right-now?" His voice was somewhat hysterical.

"Yeah. Six of them. Berserker, Sunspot, Jamie, Cannonball, Jubilee, and Wolfsbane." Wanda sighed. "And as you can obviously see, the situation still is chaotic and completely the same." She gestured to the two year old in her arms.

Pietro raised an eyebrow. "You-look-a-little-too-at-ease-with-kids, sis. And-why- are-you-holding-that-one?" He wrinkled his brow in confusion as he cast an eye to Todd who was randomly crawling around.

Wanda shrugged and shifted the red-head's weight in her arm. Evan answered for her. "Because, man, that one isn't interested in forcefully removing her earrings or giving her bald spots. And he's being a little angel."

"_This one_ has a name." Wanda frowned. "How would you like to be referred to as that one?"

Both boys shrugged. "Sorry," Evan looked at his sneakers.

"Why-are-you-apologizing-to-her?" Pietro scowled. Evan carefully avoided eye contact with a shrug. Pietro blinked in confusion until realization hit him with a mallet. "Oh-for-the-love-of-pixie-stix! You-don't!.... You-cannot-be-serious! I-think-I'm-going-to-be-sick..."

"What?" Wanda asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Wanda-its-better-if-you-don't-know...for-your-sanity." Her brother shook his head. "You-really-don't-need-to-know."

She turned to Evan for an explanation but he was carefully concentrating on Tabitha's hair. So she turned to Piotr.

"Do you know what's up?"

He merely smiled. "Я не могу сказать Вам, моему другу. Я поддержу(обслужу) тишину, пока Эван не решает сказать Вам непосредственно.» (okay I know probably no one can read that. Its Russian for I cannot tell you, my friend. I will maintain silence until Evan decides to tell you himself. Well actually I have no clue if that is accurate or not. For all I know it could say anyone who uses free expecting English looking letters and stuff is a total moron. But freetranslation says it means what I want it to mean.)

Wanda looked at him, complete and utter confusion washed over her face.

Evan smiled. "Dude, I have no clue what you just said, but thanks...I think..."

"Daniels, you-know-he-could-have-just-blown-your-little-secret-out-of-the-water-and-called-you-a-fat-talentless-wannabe-porcupine-and-you-wouldn't-have-understood-him-right?" Pietro smirked.

"Yeah, but the key thing is she didn't understand either." Evan smiled. Pietro shook his head in exasperation.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Boys! And they say girls are the psychotically mysterious ones."

As she walked to the group of kids Pietro hissed at Evan. "You...are...not...allowed...to...have...any...interest...in...my...sister...kapeiche?"

Evan rolled his eyes. "Yes sir. You as my mortal rival have every right to say who I can and cannot like."

"I...can...when...its...my...sister!" Pietro spat through his clenched teeth. "Act-on-this-little-crush-of-yours-and-you-may-find-yourself-in-the-middle-of-the-Indian-Ocean, Daniels."

"Oh yeah, I'm so scared...I'm shaking in my sneakers." Evan stood up to his full height, which was within an inch of Pietro's. "Maybe I'm going to ask her out. What'll you do then. What if she says yes?" He taunted. "You know she's going to grow up someday. She's not a nine-year-old Pietro. She doesn't need your protection. Face it Pietro, your twin doesn't need you!"

Quicksilver growled. "You-don't-know-anything. She-does-need-me. I-am-her-brother! It-is-my-job-to-make-sure-that-she-stays-away-from-slime-like-you!"

"Right...sure...She's seventeen Pietro, not nine. She can make her own decisions. She's almost a legal adult. And you think I'm slime? Yet you don't even try to stem the obviously unhealthy obsession with her that Toad has? And I bet you don't even know that she and Kurt have met without you knowing it. Oh and don't get me started with your own best friend...You can't tell me that you have not ever noticed how protective he is with her and how they're always talking and smiling. What right do you have to forbid me from liking her Pietro? I don't govern your twisted love life and neither does she. You can't decide what she does Pietro...face it...your sister has grown up."

Pietro snarled and raised clenched fists as if to hit the boy in front of him.

"Um...ascuze me, are you gonna kill each other?" Tabitha asked from her forgotten place in Evan's arms. Both teenage boys blinked. "Cuz if ya are, can Tabby get putted down first? Gotsa go potty."

Evan set her down on the floor as he cooled down a little. Pietro was still however fuming. While Evan was distracted, he slung a sharp punch at his rival's face. Evan only just had time to look and turn his head.

Pietro's fist collided with Evan's jaw with a muffled thud.

"Sh!t" Evan cursed as the sharp taste of iron rich blood flowed in his mouth. (Evan swears I don't so tip the ! upside down.) Without thinking, he threw a punch of his own that hit Pietro in the nose. Instantly the blood poured from the other boy's nose.

"Daniels, rot in He-" He lunged towards the other boy snarling but was stopped as both he and Evan were pulled apart. Colossus had Evan by the collar and Wanda had used her powers to paralyze her brother's feet and hands in place.

"What on earth has gotten into you?!" Wanda asked furiously.

"There is no need to be killing each other." Piotr said sternly as the younger children looked on in curiosity.

"What the heck is going on in here?" Lance's voice bellowed as he entered the room, arms crossed and face contorted into a frown.

"Maximoff was going to attack me!" Evan snarled.

"Not-before-you-decked-me-in-the-face!" Pietro hissed.

"You threw the first punch Pietro!" Evan snapped.

Both attempted to move toward the other threateningly but Wanda and Piotr held on tight.

"Would both of you just shut up and tell me what you two are fighting over now?!!!" Lance roared causing many of the younger set to whimper, while most of the girls (led of course by Jean) started crying. "Now look what you made me do!" Lance groaned and tried to cheer up Kitty, Jean, Amara, and Tabitha.

The two boys looked as though their blood had ceased boiling. But both were still clearly ticked off and fuming.

"He-had-no-right-to-say-what-he-did." Pietro scowled.

"What did you say?" Lance asked Evan curiously. "Must have been pretty harsh if it got him that mad."

"I was just kidding around and then he went ballistic on me." Evan shrugged. "Don't look at me. He's insane."

"You-had-no-right-saying-what-you-did-about-my-sister!" Pietro snapped.

This caught Wanda and Lance's attention and curiosity.

"You said something about Wanda?" Lance groaned, knowing this was not going to be easy.

"Hey man, I was just pointing out the truth." Evan crossed his arms.

"What truth? And why does it involve me?" Wanda frowned. "What did you say? I think I have a right to know." She locked her eyes to his in confusion.

It didn't take a genius to notice the blush that raced across his face and neck. He gulped and looked desperately to Piotr who merely shook his head. He wasn't going to say it.

"Well," He muttered hesitantly, nervously rubbing his neck. "This is hard...I don't really think I should tell you..." She glowered at him and threw her arms in the air.

"Whatever! Talk about me all you want. See if I care!" She scowled in frustration. "It'll get back to me eventually."

"Wanda..." Evan mumbled weakly. "It wasn't anything bad about you...I couldn't really say anything bad about you...There's nothing bad to say..." He stumbled over his words in embarrassment. Lance caught on to what the problem was with a small smirk and then a frown.

Wanda fumed. "Well what did you say?" Pietro scowled and crossed his arms.

"I kinda-sorta-in-a-way-might-just-um-like-you." Evan mumbled quickly. Actually he spoke faster even than Pietro. The albino speedster barely understood him but he growled anyway. Wanda blinked.

"Did he just say what I think he did?" She asked Lance who smirked and gave a half nod.

"Oh." She tilted her head to the side.

"Oh?! That's it?!" Pietro snarled. "That's-all-you-have-to-say? This-is-a-crisis!" He whined hysterically.

"Is it really that big a deal?" Wanda asked her brother in confusion and shifted the red headed toddler in her arms as he pulled his head up to her shoulder. "You're acting like he did something awful..."

Evan seemed torn between relief and humiliation. Wanda turned to him. "Do you really like me?"

He shrugged and looked away. She rolled her eyes. "Well, when you decide, let me know, okay?" She grumbled in agitation . "I'll just go on living my life..."

"Its-not-so-much-that-he-likes-you..." Pietro groaned. "But-its...its-Evan! He-can't-take-my-sister-away! I-don't-want-you-to-not-need-me!" The boy whimpered.

Wanda blinked. "Awww, Pie, is that what's wrong? You think I don't need you?" She frowned softly as he nodded sheepishly. "You're my brother, silly. Nobody can take your place...believe me I tried to find replacements."

Pietro frowned. "That wasn't funny." Everyone gave them questioning looks so he continued. "When we were two, she wanted the tree in our backyard to be her new brother. And then when we were four, she decided that the gorilla at the zoo was a better choice, so she tried to convince our father to ask the zookeeper to switch me with the gorilla." He frowned as the others chuckled.

"Of course, Father said no." Wanda sighed heavily. "I still think Big Jim would have been a better brother."

"Yeah, he looked more like you." Pietro smirked. His sister playfully slapped him.

"Don't forget about that kid who said the polar bear was your cousin."

"Wanda, that was you." Pietro rolled his eyes and she smirked.

"You're the idiot who believed me." She snorted.

"I was four!" He grumbled and crossed his arms, immaturely sticking out his tongue.

"Um, is this a bad time?" Amanda's soft voice broke up the twin's playful banter.

"Hey Amanda," Wanda smiled. "Glad you're here; I've been feeling slightly outnumbered."

The other girl nodded and tucked her long dark hair behind her ears. "So no change?"

Lance gave an exasparated sigh as he held Kitty in the air and spun in a small circle. She squealed in delight and smiled. "Nope. Well if by that you mean are they still kids. Their powers are coming in full force. So far its Gambit, Iceman, Boom Boom, Nightcrawler, and Toad. The one's I'm really worried about are Kitty's, Summers', Jean's, and most especially Rogue's. Blob's won't really be too bad, he's pretty easily managed. Pyro's shouldn't be a problem unless Magma's come in at the same time...but when Rogue gets hers, all hell will break loose." He sighed gravely. "We just have to keep her as unstressed as possible."

Amanda smiled. "Then I have a perfect plan. Its a beautiful day out and I think we should take them out to the park. Let them run around and be carefree, maybe take them swimming. We could bring a picnic lunch or something so its a day out. I think they'd like it."

Lance rubbed the back of his neck in thought. He pondered the possibilities, pros and cons. "It could be nice to get out of the institute..." His thoughts traveled to the heaps of dirty laundry that awaited him and groaned. "Ugh, and it would be nice to get away from doing laundry for a few hours...I wish it was someone else's day."

Amanda thought for a moment. "There's a park near my house that is across the street from a plaza, I think they have a coin-op laundry place there. Yeah, its between the Chinese restaurant and the drug store." She nodded. "You could bring it and do it there, then it'll take less time."

Lance grinned. "Awesome idea. I'm game, anybody object?"

"Aw man, who wants to spend such an awesome day babysitting a bunch of pre-k brats?" Evan whined.

"You know Evan, there's a skate park there."

"Skate park?" His interest piqued.

"Yeah. And the owner of the Laundromat is this awesome basketball player. He was star player at PS 105 (a/n made up school if it really exists cool, if not, it does now) in his high school days."

Evan was practically drooling. "Hey Daniel's," Lance smirked. "Trade you, the chance to meet this guy and get out of baby watching...if you don't mind doing the laundry."

"Sure. Why not?" Evan smiled eagerly. "You can have my day, tomorrow."

Lance nodded and the two shook hands. "Well lets get going. Shall we?" Evan asked in excitement as he grabbed his skateboard and headed to the basement to fetch the bags of laundry.

"One-teeny-little-problem." Pietro pointed out. "If-we-are-taking-the-beasts-out-to-go-swimming-don't-they-need-swim-suits?"

"Two steps ahead of you." Amanda smiled gently. "Boys can wear shorts and for the girls, I borrowed five from a community swim class for little kids. I have a friend who works there and as long as they get returned before Thursday the boss doesn't mind. And yes they are clean, I threw them in the laundry this morning." She opened the beach bag she was carrying, revealing the swimsuits, and some other stuff. "I have until ten for curfew tonight. I told my parents I was going to help a couple friends babysitting at the park." She smiled.

"Okay." Lance shrugged. "So what should we bring?"

Amanda looked to the toddlers and scooped Kurt into her arms as he crawled by. He struggled down and continued toddling after Bobby when she released him. "Cute...I see how it is." She said jokingly. "Anyway, probably sun block, and lunch, a change of clothes per kid, and towels." She thought.

Lance nodded and smiled. "Okay, then we should be able to go in five minutes."

And so, five minutes later they were wrestling twelve toddlers into three cars. Lance had Remy, Rogue, Tabby, and Kitty in his jeep. Amanda brought her yellow SUV and had managed to fit Amara, Bobby, Kurt, and St. John in the rear seats and Wanda up front. Piotr had Freddy, Jean, Scott, and Todd in the X-van along with Evan and the ton of dirty laundry in the back. Pietro flat refused to share a car with Evan so he ran. And waited a whole five minutes for them at the park.

Lance unlocked the baby seats and opened the doors and three of his charges tore off to the others like bats out of heck. Kitty on the other hand got her overalls caught in the seatbelt and pulling the knot only made it tighter. She whimpered for Lance's aid and he sighed.

"How'd you do that Kitty cat?" He asked as he gently untangled her.

She gave him a look that suggested it was idiotic to ask. He hugged her and then freed her. She ran towards her friends as fast as she could, squealing in delight. Lance grabbed the backpack and the duffle bag that held lunch and towels and headed over to the others on kids...settle down. Its time for lunch." The kids ignored Lance and continued running around screaming like banshees and chasing each other.

Lance looked hopeless screaming himself hoarse as the others set up a blanket to eat on. Wanda shook her head. She threw a hand towards the mass of children and the blue energy from her powers surrounded them and forced them to hover back to the blanket and sit. They weren't too happy and they struggled but her powers held them firm. "Hm, you hafta love chaos magic." She mused as she examined her nails.

The kids were obviously not that interested in the sandwiches but surprisingly, not even Rogue made a fuss about it. She sat as far away from Wanda as she could and ate quietly and quickly.

"Look! Duckies!" Kitty squealed. She toddled to the bank of a little pond and pointed to them.

"Careful girls." Lance warned as Tabby scurried over and threw her bread crust to attract the ducks. It seemed to amuse her endlessly that they came waddling over.

Rogue smiled and joined the littler girls in throwing bread at the ducks. Most of the toddlers joined in, laughing and having a grand time. Lance sat back on the blanket with a small smile.

"Aren't they just too cute when they act so young?" He asked Wanda who was gently rocking Todd's baby carry seat and humming softly to him.

"Uh huh." She grinned and wiped a tiny bit of slime from the infant's nose as he sighed and fell asleep. Pyro turned to her and approached her with the bread from his lunch.

"You wanna feed the duckies?" He asked sincerely.

Wanda chuckled and shook her head. "No, its okay hon, you feed them." The two year old beamed and moved back to the water's edge. Wanda grinned and lay back, propping herself up on her arms. She closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet.

"Why look at that...A mother at her age, why that girl couldn't be a day older than your Melissa, Jane." A middle aged woman loudly whispered to a companion.

"I know Mildred, dreadful isn't it? Barely a baby herself. But then look at the way she dresses! And hanging around with all those hoodlums. She's just asking for trouble. Fortunately, my daughter has morals." The two women passed by and Wanda looked upset.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Lance called politely. "I think you got the wrong idea about my sister..." He rose from his laid back position. "We're just babysitting the family kids during a family reunion." He smiled gently. "None of these are hers." He bowed his head humbly.

Mildred and Jane looked surprised. "Is that so young man?"

"Definitely." Evan jumped abandoning his lunch. "She isn't that kind of girl and we aren't that kinda guy."

The older women smiled and nodded while walking away. "Such polite young men, but I really do think they were covering up for her. She's much to maternal with those darling children to not be their mother." Jane sighed.

Wanda sighed as they got out of ear and eyeshot. "Thanks for trying guys. I guess I just physically scream "loose" or something." She shrugged and looked back to the kids.

Everyone sent her a sympathetic glance. "Hey quit this. No pity." She frowned. "Lets just drop it. In a little while we can go swimming. We should go get changed." She stood up and grabbed her duffel bag and called for the girls to come. Obediently they toddled after her and Amanda. Lance and the guys headed into the locker rooms too.

A few moments later, Lance was paying for the group and they were waiting for the girls. They entered the pool area and discovered Wanda and Amanda setting up a towel to sit on a patch of grass near the kiddie pool and the main pool. The little girls were standing near the baby pool comparing swimsuits.

"Mines is nice." Jean smiled and twirled. Her rental swim suit was a shade of red that identically matched her hair. The straps were yellow and crossed in the back. It wasn't too fancy but she seemed to like it. "But yours is nice too." She nodded at Rogue.

"Yah think so?" Rogue scrunched up her nose and glanced down at her bright green swim suit with curiosity. It had a single purple heart on the upper left hand side and other than that it was fairly plain. "Thanks."

Amanda was holding the dark blue and gold clad Amara and she laughed in amusement as Kitty and Tabby compared their nearly identical suits.

"Hey." Lance plunked down near them. The young boys followed hesitantly.

Wanda blushed a bit as Lance raised an eyebrow at her attire. She had worn a red tankini ( tank top bikini bottom for the uninformed) and wrapped a black sarong (those beach skirt thingies ? ) around her waist.

Pietro snarled a bit about the way his best friend was looking at his sister. "Keep-your-filthy-eyes-to-your-precious-Pryde." He snapped his fingers in front of the older boy's face.

Lance's ears turned red as he looked away. He was just in time to see somebody rather unpleasant approaching.

"Hey Alvers." Duncan Matthews nodded with a sneer.

"Matthews." Lance frowned.

Duncan raised a blond eyebrow at Wanda who had sat up in confusion. "New babe on the block? Nice choice. So much better than that Katie Proud chick you were dating in high school."

Wanda flushed scarlet and Lance glowered. "Its Kitty Pryde." He said tersely.

"Aw whatever, that little bookworm was such a geek. And she hung around Summers so you know she was a loser." He shrugged and smirked at the giggle the petite girl on his arm gave.

"Scott? Yeah he's such a jerk."

"Truer words were never spoken Taryn babe." Duncan chortled. His beady blue eyes chose that moment to fall on the little kids. They widened in recognition.

"Woah! That one looks like Pryde! How old is she?"

"That is none of your business." Wanda sneered.

"Look girlie, you're just there to make your boyfriend look better. Your opinion does not count." Duncan leered.

"Hey-Matthews, leave-my-sister-alone!" Pietro snarled.

"Huh? Pietro? You have a sister?" Taryn's jaw dropped. "I've never seen her around..."

"Well maybe you don't look properly." Wanda frowned. The ex BHS soccer player thought for a moment.

"Hey I've seen you before, on the news..."

"Yeah, so?" Wanda challenged as the color drained from the two non-mutants' faces.

"You're that mutant who was in the red trench coat and knocked a sentinel onto that guy..." Duncan gulped.

"Uh huh. That's me. Scarlet Witch is what flat scans like you can call me." Wanda scowled as she recognized the fear in his voice. "I can't exactly say meeting you has been a pleasure...So you can leave my sight now, okay?"

Taryn and Duncan were about to do just that when they noticed a few of the other kids. "Oh gross! Someone actually allowed that little vampire to reproduce?" Taryn shrieked as she examined Rogue.

The three year old raised an eyebrow. "Who ah (are) y'all?" She wrinkled her nose and stepped back because something about these new people made her edgy.

"Ew, she talks like that creep too!" Taryn squealed.

"That your kid too?" Duncan frowned.

"What the heck kind of question is that?" Lance scowled. He gently moved both girls to stand behind him. "Mind your own business."

"Well, I'm just saying, that little vampire lived with you once. This brat could be anyone's; yours, Maximoff's that fat blob guy, or even Toady Tolansky. So who is it mutie?" Duncan taunted.

"None of your business flatscan." Lance growled as Pietro scowled and crossed his arms.

"Yours then." Duncan shrugged with a cackle. "After all, only another mutie could love that chick. She wasn't exactly the best girl in the world, isn't she the one that had the poison skin? I guess that changed. Only another misfit could love her."

Lance clenched his fists. He could easily beat the guy in a fight, even without powers, but he didn't want to get all mutants everywhere in trouble. "Leave Rogue out of this." He whispered coldly.

"So why are you on babysitting duty Alvers? Someone with your temper, around children? Tsk Tsk. Only an unfit mother would leave a baby in your care." Taryn sneered.

Lance scowled and evaded eye contact. Taryn's eyes lit up in recognition. "They aren't here anymore are they?" His refusal to respond answered plain enough. "Hah that's a laugh! You got ditched with the Rogue's brat and Pryde's? How fitting!"

Duncan laughed brainlessly. Lance was ready to throw a punch but Wanda grabbed his fist. "Lance no! It'll only make things worse!" She pleaded and her expression shot flashbacks of Kitty reeling through his mind.

Duncan stared hard at the other kids. Rogue and Kitty felt like they'd been talked about and they were afraid. Jean stepped up to both of them and put a soothing hand on their shoulders. " It'll be kay. Don't worry." She smiled.

"Hey wait a cotton picking second..." Duncan's jaw dropped as Scott and Remy stepped in front of the girls.

"Leave us 'lone!" Remy scowled.

"Yeah we didn't do nufing (nothing) to you guys!" Scott glowered.

"So go 'way fat crayons!" Tabitha jeered at the jocks, using Lance's word for them-or at least attempting it.

"Well, I guess we know how you losers stayed occupied when you had to live in that hole under your old mansion." Duncan smirked.

"You don't know anything!" Amanda growled at her fellow non-mutant.

"Shove it Sefton." Taryn rolled her eyes. "Mutie lovers are to be seen, unfortunately but you don't have to be heard. You're a traitor to your species."

"I'm a human being. They are too." The girl crossed her arms. "So they have a few extra genes, so what?"

"Hey is there a problem over here?" A female voice that rang a bell in Lance's memory called over.

A familiar looking life guard followed the voice. Dark hair. Red stripe. Curious eyes. Carmen. Lance's ears turned pink as he remembered his encounter with her yesterday.

"Huh? Oh no. Just talking." Duncan shot her a winning smile.

"Really now?" She tilted her head to the side and continued with a sweet as honey voice. "Well, whatever are you talking about so hostilely?"

Duncan grinned sheepishly. "Just guy stuff."

"Sure." Carmen nodded and ran her hand down his jaw line. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You and Miss. Fujioka are not allowed to cause problems with any other pool patrons Duncan. You know that." She batted her eye lashes and pointed towards the door. Taryn and Duncan left grumbling about how they didn't really want to swim in the same water as mutants anyway.

Carmen rolled her eyes. "So, how's it going? Long time no see, ya know." She said with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

"Its okay. I guess." Lance nodded. "Just a perfect summer day for a day at the park with some friends."

"Em hm." She grinned. "Definitely. That's why I work a few days a week as a life guard. I live for days like this." She closed her eyes as if basking in the glory of the day. "Its too bad that losers like Duncan and Taryn have to come ruin it for everyone." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, thanks for that." Lance smiled softly.

"Aw you can't listen to anything that goon says." She waved it off as nothing. "He just likes brewing up trouble. Sorry if anything offended you."

"I'm used to it." Lance groaned. "Its just he was getting on my case about a few of my friends who aren't here, and hitting on who he assumed I was dating. I try not to let him get under my skin, but he is such a jerk."

Carmen nodded sympathetically. "Well, I better get back to my post, but you and your posse have fun okay?"

Lance shook his head to clear it as she walked away. He felt like when she was close that thinking was a difficult task.

"Okay kiddos." He smiled brightly at the kids. Kitty and Marie still looked edgy and Remy and Scott were positively fuming.

"Remy non like dose deux bullies." The kid Cajun scowled menacingly.

"Not me either." Scott narrowed his eyes.

Lance chuckled at how similar the two seemed at that moment. Then he realized that part of it was both of them had glowing red eyes.

"Oh crap!" Lance fished around his pocket for the goggles for Scott. While getting the boy into a swim suit, he had realized that the optic beams were not active and decided that the kid deserved to see something other than the shades of red he always did see. And the formerly brown eyes were now glowing nearly identically to Remy's.

"Scott...close your eyes." Lance said as calmly as he could. The boy did and grimaced as Lance clipped the goggles back over his ears. Nobody had noticed anything wrong except Scott but he tolerated it out without much complaint.

Colossus quietly attached water wings to the group of anxious kids' arms. The kids were then led into the kiddie pool area, where the water was no more than eight inches deep. Wanda set Todd into it and he splashed around joyfully. The kids took to it gladly. The teens watched in amusement as they got into splash fights and squealed in happiness. Fred could even float a little bit and he seemed happy enough. However, Pyro seemed frightened the whole time and Marie clung to the edge of the wall in terror.

"Hey Marie? Are you kay?" Scott asked hesitantly as he paddled past her. She shook her head and clung to the railing at the stairs.

"Don' be afaid." Jean frowned gently. "The water's nice. It feels like a big bath." She coaxed trying to get the other girl to have fun. "Only you wear cloves (clothes)."

Kitty and Tabitha were splashing around and accidentally hit Rogue. She whimpered and closed her eyes and gripped the railing tighter.

"Hey! Quit it!" Jean told them sternly. The two younger girls shrugged and continued their splash fight with the boys on the other end.

Remy, who by this point had been in the splash fight with the boys and was soaking wet, came over curiously. "Marie? 's okay. De water is fun. An' it ain' cold ou nuttin'!" He grinned and held a hand out to her." She shook her head.

"Go 'way! Ah wan' out!" She whimpered and looked to the older teens with a pitiful expression.

"Remy kin teach y' t' swim." He offered. "C'mon Marie. Remy won' let y' git hurted."

Hesitantly she reached out and took his hand. "Promise?"

"Remy never lie t' a fille." He said solemnly as he pulled her to where he was. He released her hand and showed her how to do the dog paddle. She awkwardly attempted and after half an hour she was splashing around and swimming pretty well for someone her age.

"Fank You Remy!" She laughed as she made a move as if to hug him. He smiled and prepared himself to receive the hug. But at the last second she surprised him and splashed him right in the face and knocked him down. He scowled up at her and moved quickly to get up. But she was leaning down to help him at the same moment so they both found themselves with their faces a little too close. He blinked and they ended up hitting their foreheads together.

"Ow!" They rubbed their heads simultaneously as Remy sat fully up in the water.

Lance and the other older set were almost in hysterics. It had been the absolute most adorable scene they had ever imagined and Lance had managed to snap a picture. Several other parents had cooed over how cute it was but they had no idea the whole situation.

"Are you okay Remy?" He chuckled to the boy who indignantly glared at his best friend.

"She hit Remy in de head." He pouted. "Kin Remy git ice cream?" He added as an afterthought.

Lance rolled his eyes.

The older kids began to converse among themselves about what had almost just happened. Remy climbed out of the pool. "Remy wanna swim in de big pool. Remy knows how."

Lance grimaced and agreed to take him over to the regular pool and keep an eye on him. Though Pietro was over in that area already, he was a bit preoccupied with flirting with anything female and bikini-clad.

"Okay kid. Lets go." Lance gestured for Remy to follow him. "Anyone else?"

To his surprise, Jean and Scott hurried out of the shallow pool to join him. "I had simmy (swimming) lessons afore. I can sim pretty good." Jean grinned. Lance noticed that her brattiness must come and go because there hadn't been much of an issue today.

Lance nodded. "Alright, Scott? Can you swim too?"

"Uh huh. Dad teached me. He's in the ear force." The four-year-old smiled proudly.

"Do you mean air force?" Lance chuckled, impressed nonetheless.

"Oh yeah, that." Scott smiled sheepishly.

So Lance and the three toddlers entered the big pool area. The two boys jumped in and Jean stepped in at the stairs.

"Okay pip squeaks, here's the rules. I don't care if you are Olympic champion swimmers, you can't go past the four feet mark. Its just too hard for me to keep an eye on you. Understand."

"Ouais. (French for yeah)" Remy waved the older boy off. "Don' worry."

The three kids started swimming around playing some game where Remy was a shark and the other two had to stay away because if he tagged them, they were the shark.

"Hm, they have quite the imagination don't they?" Carmen's accented voice met Lance's ears. He turned to find the girl in question standing near him. "Kids, I mean." She smiled. She sat down beside him and dangled her feet into the pool. "You're so good with them." She followed his gaze to the kids who were shrieking in their amusement.

He didn't seem to hear her but he nodded anyway.

"So your girlfriend here?" She cast an agitated look to Amanda who was laughing and splashing the little kids.

"Huh? Her? Nah." Lance said shortly as he got the flashbacks of when he and Kitty were first formally introduced back in their home town.

"So then she isn't around?" Carmen smirked coyly. "Perfect, only true love ruins my powers..." She whispered to her self. Lance didn't hear her and he nodded absently.

"Wanna come for a swim with me?"

"Nah. I have to keep an eye on them." Lance frowned and gestured to Remy who was really close to tagging Scott.

"Oh come on, what do you think they pay life guards for?"

"You should know." He mumbled coldly. He felt confused and in a haze, almost as if he couldn't think for himself.

"Yeah. And I do. My shift's over." She batted her eyes at him. She pouted seeing him shrug nonchalantly. "The sun's bright today. Could you maybe help me get this sun block on my back?" She pouted and blinked at him.

Lance wanted to say no. He tried to picture Kitty but he was fading fast. She ran a gentle hand up his arm with a small smile.

"Sure." He said in a dull voice. He took the bottle of sun block from her hands and helped her apply it.

In the kiddie pool area, Rogue was twisting a lock of her wet hair sadly. She felt left out even though the others had invited her to play Marco Polo with them. The kids her age were all in the big pool. She didn't want to feel like a baby. So while all the older kids were preoccupied with the littlest ones she climbed out of the water and opened the gate and went to the big pool.

"Hey Marie." Jean smiled. "Come an play wiv us! Scott is the shark. Don' let him touch you."

Marie smiled and looked at Lance. "Wha's wrong wif him?" She wrinkled her nose. "Did his eyes alays go pink?"

The three others looked and appeared puzzled. "Non, Remy t'ink we'd'a noticed dat afore." The oldest mini-mutant raised an eyebrow.

The four observed their caretaker with great confusion. He was practically drooling over the girl in front of them, and they recognized her from the store from yesterday. "Ah don' like her." Marie frowned as she turned and leaned up as if to kiss Lance. "An Ah'll neber understand growed ups." She sighed.

"Aw fo'git dem." Remy grinned. "C'mon in!" She looked hesitant.

"'S awful deep." She gulped.

Her friend shrugged. They turned back to watch their guardian and this strange girl. "Ewww!" Scott covered his eyes. "They're kissing!"

"Yuck." Jean frowned.

"Its like a soap opera on'y worser." Remy looked away. "Acuz y' can' shut it off!"

"Lets go over there. Ah don' wanna watch Lance tryin' ta eat her mouth off." She rolled her eyes and beckoned the others to follow.

"We can' go pass four feets deep." Jean cautioned.

"Ah know. We can go to the other side of the pool though." She walked and the other three swam. People looked at them curiously as if wondering where their parents were. Marie sat at the pool's edge and dangled her feet in.

"Ya havin' fun?" She asked the other kids with a smile on her face.

The others nodded. They continued their game from earlier. Rogue looked around at her surroundings. From here she could see the parking lot and the plaza where Evan was doing laundry. In the gates of the pool, she saw a lot of people she didn't recognize, the group with the little mutants still playing baby games, Pietro flirting like crazy with a blond life guard, and people doing tricks off the diving board.

"That looks cool." She nodded as one teenage girl did a graceful dive into the water. She continued watching and witnessed a rather large guy do a canon ball and then somebody did a back flip. The person behind them managed to do a belly flop and of course it hurt but it looked like great fun to the three-year-old. "Lets go watch!"

"Remy no know..." The boy looked worried. "Y' can' swim too good...an' Lance said we gotta stay in de t'ree feets section."

"Come on! We won't go in the water, silly! Ah jus' wanna watch the people go off the divie board." She pouted and he had to agree.

"Okay but we gotsa be careful. De water can be dangerous." Remy warned. They all climbed out and headed over to the diving board.

They watched in amazement as the people dived. "Remy could do dat." He bragged. "Wanna see?" The two girls nodded impressed.

"Wait, you don' wanna get us all in trouble do you?" Scott pleaded.

"Don' worry, Remy a big boy." He said proudly. "Water ain' dangerous fo' Remy. Remy kin swim tres good."

The kid stood in line and climbed on the board when it was his turn.

"Hey honey? Are you sure you should be up there?" The lifeguard took a moment away from giggling at Pietro's flirts to call to the four-year-old in concern.

"Remy be okay!" He grinned and to prove it he bounced twice and gracefully dove into the water and popped back up after he was done with a grin and a 'ta da'.

"Show off." Jean frowned.

Suddenly Duncan came barreling back in. "Hey kid move it," he pushed past Rogue in his haste to get to the wallet he had left on the bench. But as he was a big bulky football player and she was a petite three-year-old, she lost her balance and slipped on a wet patch, into the pool.

If I was feeling malicious, I'd end it here but I'm in a good mood...

She screamed as she fell. Her water floaties fell off as she flailed her arms around. Before she knew what was happening she was under the water. On the side, Jean and Scott shrieked with horror. Remy, who was still in the water, tried to get to her but he was just four and tired very quickly. He reached her and tried to pull her up but it was hard cause she was panicking. She breathed in some water and screamed again.

The lifeguard pushed Pietro off and dove from her chair into the water. In two strokes she was at the toddler's side. She pushed Remy to the wall and held Rogue as the panicking girl calmed down. But she was scared and really tired so she was crying and still panicky.

Lance heard the commotion and was instantly snapped from his spell. At the first shriek he was up and running. So were all the other teens. And everyone else in the pool area.

Lance saw the problem as it happened. Almost as if it was in slow motion. The small girl was at an impossible distress level. She was a mutant with poison skin. A lifeguard who was wearing nothing but a swimsuit was holding her. When the girls' skin touched horrible flashes of light blinked in many different colors. Both screamed in pain and fear.

"Carol!" Some of the other life guards called franticly. The young women could swim well. She was on the Olympic team. But that made no difference. All of a sudden her blue eyes rolled back and her grip on the crying child slipped.

Carmen was in the water and speeding towards her fellow life guard. She was reaching inhuman speed and getting very upset. "Carol! Come on girl, what's wrong?" She got her friend to the wall, forgetting about the hysterical three year old. "Carol! Oh God! come on! Breathe!"

Pietro noticed Rogue still floundering and pulled her out with his speediness. Lance took her and held her close while Wanda handed him a towel with a worried expression. "Shh, Marie calm down." He pulled the warm fluffy towel around her and looked at the blond who lay looking lifeless at the pool side. "Is she going to be alright?"

Duncan gaped. "I...I...didn't mean for that to happen..." He stammered as the crowd glared daggers at him. "Hey don't blame me for the brat being mutie scum." He scowled. "She gets it from at least her vampire mother." The crowd turned to Lance who tightened his grip on the exhausted toddler.

"What are you doing back anyway Matthews?" He growled in disgust. "Didn't you get kicked out?"

"Yeah for causing a disturbance," Carmen agreed.

The head life guard looked upon everyone. "What I am curious to is why this child was near the deep end when obviously she cannot swim."

Lance flushed in embarrassment. He remembered very well what he was doing instead of watching her and he was very ashamed of it. He was about to reply when Carmen took her opportunity.

"It was my fault Cassie." She hung her head. "I was watching her and she and her siblings were told not to go beyond the four feet mark. I turned to talk for one second and then she was over here. With all due respect, she was wearing floaties on her arms until the bully over here" she shot a nasty glare at Duncan "Pushed her."

"Carmen, I am surprised with you. As a life guard you should know better. I am going to have to put this in your file, the other woman shook her head sadly and turned back to the girl everyone was franticly checking for signs of life.

"Is she breathing, does she have a pulse?" Cassie demanded as they tried CPR for the third time.

"Yes, she's got a pulse on her. Its faint though." Brendan, a male life guard called desperately. "And Jake just got her breathing but she's unconscious."

"Turn her to her side, let her body force the water out naturally if you can't pump it out." Cassie turned to Lance who was gently rocking the child who'd fallen asleep in his arms. "If you don't mind my asking, what the Hell just happened?"

He was spared answering again but this time the person had no interest in helping. "The brat's obviously a mutant. She's got powers like that witch Rogue." He jeered. The crowd gasped as one single unit."

"Look kid, I'm going to have to ask you and your friends to leave. I don't want any trouble. I'm not anti mutant but this is a difficult time." Cassie frowned apologetically.

Lance nodded mutely and gestured to the others to get their stuff and come on.

"Is Marie alright?" Remy pouted nervously. "She non gunna die right?" He pleaded.

"Remy please shut up." Lance sighed.

"I'll get Carol to the hospital." Carmen volunteered.

"You see to it that she's okay." Cassie nodded. "Okay show's over everyone go home. Pool's closing NOW! Shoo!" And everyone left.

Carmen gently picked up her fellow lifeguard. "Bayville General right? I'll be back in three shakes of a lambs tail." Then with a red blur, she was gone.

"What just happened?" Lance gaped. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that was Pietro." He looked at Wanda who was staring at him with worry.

She rolled her eyes and then turned a sympathetic gaze to the small girl Lance held close. "Will she be alright?"

"I don't know. She absorbed that girl. It obviously exhausted her. When she wakes up, it won't be fun." He frowned in sadness. "Who knows what will happen from here?"

"Poor little thing." Wanda sighed and looked at the girl once more.

"I feel bad for that girl. I've never even seen her before." Amanda looked ready to cry.

"I-know-her." Pietro offered in a strange voice. "Her-parents-died-about-three-years-ago. A-drunk-driver-hit-them-on-their-way-her-graduation-in me-and-Daniels'-freshman-year. She-was-valedictorian-at-the-school-Daniels-and-I-went-to."

"Oh." Lance sighed. "Do you know her name?"

"Yeah-its-Carol. Carol-Danvers."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Hello, 's me again. I can't wait for the comments this one is gonna bring in. This chapter covered a whole lot of stuffs. Pietro is back, some of the dead weight is gone to camp, a few new powers developed and lots of things were taken care of. Little longer than I originally planned but its probably for the better for everyone. Okay, now its time to sit down and have a serious talk.

I don't want anyone rolling their eyes or acting childish. This is a talk that everyone needs to have. But remember, I'm doing it because I love each and every one of you.

Reviewing. Its a serious matter. One that effects my life and yours. Every time a chapter is posted, a war of two little voices in your head happens. The evil devil on your shoulder voice tells you not to review. But this could be severely dangerous to your health. Well, perhaps not your physical health, but your mental health. There is a strong likelihood of the self esteem of the author failing if they don't get reviews. Do you really want somebody else feeling like their work is junk to be on your conscience? Of course you don't. That is precisely why you should listen to the good angel voice on the other shoulder telling you to review. Even a one word review brightens an author's day. I for one don't even mind negative comments, as long as I know people are reading. So you know where the li'l purple/blue button is. Just taking time to hit it and say what's on your mind can stop many problems. Use the button's ability to your advantage. Remember reviewing: its the anti-depressant.

Okay yeah. Oh and as a part of my free advertising campaign. I am co authoring a story by Howlerdrode. Y'all should really check it out. Its called End of The world and its under his name. Its a crossover with DC's legion of Superheroes and the evo-verse. It is a sister story to this one. And seriously like no one has reviewed it. Come on and go check it out people! This is nuts! Go now. Luv ya, peace out, don't forget to review-it goes to a good cause: the supporting of the Swedish ninja-like monkeys.


	14. BACK TO THE DOCTOR

**Hiya Everyone. Tis I! Welcome back. Don't worry this and 24 hours are not going to have too much back burner time. For any of you who don't know, I have a new story running. It was a one shot called Ma Chèrie Amour but with a little persuasion, I realized it could be a cool story. So I took one of the plaguing ideas in my mind and manipulated it a little. Its called Hearts' Desires and I like it. You should check it out. Oh and while you're at it, my buddy Howlerdrode and I have been co writing a story. Very few people have read and fewer have reviewed. It is called The End of the World. It is a crossover with DC's Legion of Superheroes and X-men Evolution. It is a sister story to this, even though it isn't too far along yet. Please go read and review that! I'll consider it a personal favor if ya do.**

**Oh and I would like to take the time to dedicate this to a special friend. Ro, you may never read this but thanks for always being by my side. You are always there with a smile and joke, and you often pick me off the floor. You may be a bit boy crazy and it may irk me to get involved with your silly obsessions and I don't think I'll ever call your boyfriend to see if he's home. But stay you. Don't change, okay? I am so grateful to have you as one of my many uplifting friends.**

**Okay and since I have forgotten for the last few times, I am going to give you the episode quotes now and I'll repeat them later. A few of you were interested in what happened and the truth is that I am really busy and I sometimes get forgetful. So here goes....**

**#1 **_Kitty walks down the bathroom hall and phases through the closed door and ignores the 'occupied' sign on the door._

_Kitty- Uh_

_Rogue- Hey! D'you mind?_

_Kitty phases through the door backwards. Rogue opens the door and is in her pajamas. Her hair isn't done but her makeup is on._

_Rogue-points The sign says 'occupied'. points hairbrush at Kitty The door was locked._

_Kitty- shrugs w-well who can read at this hour?_

_**#2** a doctor is checking the radar dude's temperature_

_Radar dude- gestures Really! It was right there!_

_Captain-looks Heh. Icebergs in the Caribbean. some other dude smirks_

_O_**k now its time to guess the episodes. Ok so now, thanks to all my lovely reviewers:**

**ThessalyD- **Glad you like it. oh good you liked the Carol Danvers bit?

**xmengirlzrule- **Glad you like it. I hate Duncan too. Don't worry, would I permanently hurt poor Rogue?

**Boom-Boom13-** Well yeah guess it was inevitable. Actually I've been planning it for a while. By the way, he was with Taryn, you know, Jean's friend? Had I really been there Duncan and Taryn would have been brutally tortured. But alas, I wasn't. Glad you liked the Pyro and Wanda cuddliness. It tickled me pink to write it. Oh and I am really glad you like little Tabby. She's a blast to write, one of my personal favorite babies.

**Stalking Pyro- **Glad you like it. Hope you like what happens next.

**ldypebsaby- **Oh don't worry, it'll eventually happen...hm interesting questions. Unfortunately if I told you I'd have to kill you. Well not really but it would spoil the surprise. Y'll hear from Forge soon don't worry.

**howlerdrode- **Don't give up hope. Eventually somebody will read and review. Its a good story and I can't see why people aren't flocking to it. I did another recommendation or two here. Yay! You got the Animorphs reference. Yeah it makes Yeerks go nuts but yeah you're half right. I never thought of it as a power enhancer, but hey it works either way. Yeah Pie's fine (well in this story). Guess he was homesick wasn't he. Well, with Rogue's powers, anyone is risking their skin. And Carol maintained contact for longer than the usual tap most people get. Come on Marvel gave Danvers the short side of the stick. Last time I checked, I have no affiliations with Marvel cept I read their comics, and watch their movies and shows. Oh Duncan has a...special fate in store for him. He'll be wishing for the Prometheus treatment when I'm done wit' him. Tsk Tsk, didn't you do your homework before comparing the meat head to Kelly? Kelly eventually becomes a mutant supporter after Kitty's future self possesses her current body and saves him from assassination at Mystique's order. Glad you like it my friend.

**wandathetiger- **Ok. Nice ta hear from you again. Glad you like it.

**ishandahalf- **Oh yeah its bound to be interesting. You wanna talk about traumatic nightmares?

**Dream Sprite-** Uh sorry it took so much time. Glad you like it.

**Scottie the iron brew- **Oh really I know. I was writing in accent, sorry if it offended you. It wasn't really meant to. I'm just bad at the accent I guess.

**Shift- **Glad ya like it. Yeah Remy's arm is broken and um...yeah you found a plothole. Lets just say that he a water-proof cover thing for his cast shall we? Hm, guess you'll have to wait and see won't you? Yeah I feel bad for Lance too.

**Hawkgal- **Oh I know Lance belongs with Kitty. Carmen...well her role has shifted. And if you've read her powers you know Lance isn't really doing this on his own. Glad you like my Wanda portrayal. Thanks for the awesome idea...yeah I like Tonda too but Jonda catches my interest a little more but don't worry this story is mostly Todd and Wanda. Actually while writing Evan's interest adds conflict, I really had to stop myself from gagging. I don't much like Spyke.

**Lance Avalanche Alvers-** Glad you like it.

**butterfly-grl4-** Don't worry. He does. Carmen's just a...lets call her a garden implement if you catch my drift. And her powers are what is wrong with Lance.

**Katatonia- x 2** No Animorphs ended very miserably. Don't wanna spoil it but Rachel died while killing Tom, Jake got depressed and Cassie got with some other guy, Ax and his crew got kidnapped by some new psychotic dude called The One. And Jake went suicidal and ordered his space crew to crash The One's ship of course killing him, Marco, Tobias, two normal humans, some Andalite nothlit and Ax. Well actually, we have no idea if they really died because the last page says ' Jake smiled an eerie smile. It was Rachel's smile. "Ram the blade ship."' ugh! bad ending huh? You didn't know that? You may not want to read books 45-54 then. Anyway Glad you like it. In answer to your curious question yeah eventually.

**Black cat of The Black Rose-**um ok. I'd prefer if you review me then check out howlerdrode's okay?

**Furry Elf-x 5** Yeah you're probably right. And she is all muscle...so we'll compromise and call her 110 shall we? I took your glossary hint. Actually it does make it easier to read. I decided most of the baby talk and accents are easy enough to guess so now I just translate non English languages. How'd I do? I nearly died when I heard that. Uck poor Rems. But its false. For once, I'm glad I made a big error. I know most people know what a sarong is. I didn't. So I was asking for clearance and hoping I wasn't horribly misusing the word. Note the question mark. but thanks for clearing it up. I now feel sheepish. Oh I'd never get mad at constructive criticism. I appreciate it so much. You are helping me to improve. Now if you were saying 'this is totally crap you're such a loser never write again you big fat idiot' then I'd get insulted but really I need more people to point out flaws. To err is human and I am only human after all. Good luck with the drawings. Its fun, I've tried my hand at it. Oh and thanks for the help!

**Fox-** Wait and see. Glad you like it.

**Zephyr, Master of Chaos- **Yeah I know its been done, but this is my way. And when I started writing it, I didn't see any other x-babies stuff on fanfiction. And when I posted it I found a few but none of them were too close to mine. Aw thanks for the compliment. I am very glad you like it. Yeah I know some of it gets repetitive, thanks for bringing the boringness of it to my attention. Please remember this was my first story I ever posted. I'm bound to mess up a little. I am sure if you check out my other two, '24 Hours' and 'Hearts' Desires' you'll find they are a bit better (or at least I'd like to think so). Glad you like the Romyness. I explain Carmen a little more a little later, don't worry, she's an OC so its okay if you don't know her.

**bobtheheadlesschicken **You'd probably get along great with Bob the Feral Blowerfish. He's one of my best guy friends in the world. His real name is Ben. Actually sometimes he does this weird little dance thing where he pulls his head in his jacket, clucks like a rooster, and struts around flapping his arms. He looks really stupid doing it but it is funny as all get out and you really gotta give props to a guy who's brave enough to do in a crowded cafeteria or our no noise allowed study hall. Anyway that's why I asked ya. So you have an interesting screen name story. I explained mine in what is now chapter three to a reviewer named Curious in Kansas but I don't mind repeating. Ok yeah I know raptors and hearts aren't often portrayed together. But long before I was an X-fan, I was hooked on the Animorphs. Still am but before I was purely obsessed. I absolutely adored the Character Tobias (if you didn't know, he was a sweet and shy boy who got stuck in the form of a red-tailed-hawk) I had a crazy crush on him and that formed the basis of my screen name. I originally toyed with the idea of tobizangel, Tobiasmaniac, etc. but I realized that I would want a name that worked in all genres and categories since I would read, review, and write in other areas of the site. So I made a name with personal significance to only me but could safely be used everywhere else too. Not as interesting perhaps as your story but hey without the boring we wouldn't appreciate the fun now would we?

**DemonicGambit** Yeah I guess we will...

**EmeraldKatsEye-** Love your reaction. Lol.

**Starknight-** Glad ya like it. I try to keep within character.

**A Cute But Psycho Bunny-** Don't worry, I tend to go off with the man's and dude's a bit too. No harm no foul. Glad you like the babies. Yeah babies are cute but when they learn they can annoy the heck outta you with the why's and how come's and moronic questions like why is cheddar cheese yellow and how do they make Jell-O wiggly that they become little demons. Yeah Carmen's a little...garden implement if you catch my drift. And if you need proof, read the rest of this chapter. No, I'm pretty sure its shi-talking mushrooms...well maybe tis for the best that you don't know Ms. Danvers cuz I am doing it different from the way Marvel handled it, but basically she's Miss Marvel, a mutant with super strength, near invulnerability, and flight. In the comics or at least the old show, Mystique made Rogue absorb her and Rogue was really young and inexperienced with her powers and held on too tight for too long and Miss Danvers fell into an irreversible coma and became a permanent resident in Rogue's head. Rogue got to keep an unwelcome head guest and the powers. Oh and don't feel too badly about being unfamiliar with the comics. Most of my info comes from _the Ultimate Guide to X-men_ and watching the old show, online databases, word of mouth and the limited comics I do own. Oh and of course Evolution. I know of a few comic stores near me but that's where my dear pal Howlerdrode comes in. He is my X-men supplier. I owe him. I know its hard to follow Legion of Superheroes but I promise it will be explained and the Evolution part is a major focus. Basically it was just a medium to pull the Evoverse characters where we wanted them.

Disclaimer: I misplaced the pink sock. And as far as I know, US Copyright laws prevent me from saying I own X-men Evolution anyway. So, for the time being, I do not own it if you recognize it. Or maybe I do...

Oh yeah, since chapter one got removed from the site, new readers may be confused. Okay, I use a few OC's. One is Carmen Roderiguez, she's Brazillian, petite, black hair with a dyed red stripe, silver-green eyes, power: she has romantic ensnarement (i.e. she can manipulate hormones and get any guy to do whatever she wants as long as they aren't too close to someone they truly love.) and superspeed. Another OC you'll see is Angèle LeBeau. Remy's adopted little sister. She's pretty and tall with auburn hair and diamond blue eyes. She has a couple powers but I'm kinda undecided on those as of yet. We'll cross that when we come to it kay?

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Lance had on his fearless leader expression. At that moment in time he was indistinguishable from Scott, well, when he was older anyway. He held the limp form of the small girl in his arms as they walked to the cars.

"Amanda, go get Evan." He ordered. "Wanda, Piotr, get the kids home to the mansion. Now." Nobody questioned him, but instead responded with abrupt nods. "Pietro, you and me have to get her help."

"From who?" Wanda asked softly. "Forge? I'd hardly say he qualifies to be a doctor. Mr. McCoy's out of town. Do you know any mutant specialists?"

Nobody knew so nobody answered.

"You could bring her to that place you took Remy." Wanda frowned as Rogue whimpered in what sounded like a nightmare.

"That doctor threatened with child services." Lance gulped. The three-year-old in his arms started breathing heavy the way small children do when frightened. Lance sighed. "I guess we have no other choice. Come on Pietro."

Pietro nodded. He ran over to the Jeep.

"Wanda? Is she gun be aright?" Remy asked in a small voice as he tugged on her arm gently."

"I don't know." Wanda shook her head gently.

"Wha appened?" Pyro's bottom lip trembled.

"Did tha lady meant ta do tha to Marie?" Kitty's eyes were wide.

"Nuh uh." Jean spoke up. "It was a appsident." She tilted her head to the side. "And it wasn' the lady. Marie did it." She muttered quietly. "Weren' you lisning to Lance an' Paytero an' Wanda?"

"No body sayed anyfing Jeanie." Tabitha crinkled her nose.

"I'd've heareded them." Kurt reasoned. "I gots big ears, so I's a good hearer."

"But they sayed it...I heared them." Jean looked confused.

Wanda clapped a hand to her forehead. 'Oh no! Her telepathy must be coming in!' Wanda groaned to herself.

Jean turned to her. "What's tellapotty?"

Lance who was halfway to the jeep groaned aloud. He turned hesitantly. "Guys, watch your thoughts." He turned and Remy called after him.

"Wait! _M'sieu_! Remy wann come witcha!" He hurried up close.

"No. Go back to the others." Lance said sternly. "Be a good little kid, okay? No arguing with me."

"Who's arguin'? An' Remy no wann be good! Wann go wit' Marie. She be hurt." He pleaded and then scowled. "An' Remy not li'l. Remy a big boy."

"Sure kiddo." Lance ruffled the boy's hair with half a smile as he shifted Rogue's weight in his arms. "Whatever you say."

Instantly Remy threw his hands over his head. "Quit it! T'ought y' an' Remy already talked 'bout dat! Y' messin' up Remy's hair! Remy no destroy y' look, y' leave Remy's 'lone. An' _je m'appelle _Remy. _Pas de _Kiddo!" He scowled.

"Okay...I get it...I think." Lance shrugged. "Just be nice and go back to Wanda and the others, please?"

"Non! Wann go witcha an' Peartro an' Marie!" He whined stubbornly.

"Colossus? Could you come get him?" Lance asked tersely.

Piotr nodded and moved towards the boy.

"Non! _Fiche moi la paix_!" The boy snapped at the ginormous Russian. "Y' don' got no rights t' say dat Remy getsa go ou stay home! Y' _ne pas mon père_!"

"Remy, do not delay Lance and Pietro." Piotr shook his head in disapproval.

"Touch Remy an' y' a dead _homme_." The four-year-old hissed as his friend moved to grab him by either the arm or shirt collar.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Lance rolled his eyes. "Just go quietly!"

The boy turned to the rock tumbler with big innocent eyes. "She Remy's bestest frind in de worl'. What if she dies? Den Remy non git t' say bye-bye. Jus' like Remy no say bye-bye t' _maman _afore she died"

Lance groaned. "Somebody shoot me. Come on. You can come, just don't waste anymore time." He opened the door and the boy climbed in quickly."

Wanda shared a look with her brother. With a smirk, he made a gesture like a whip being snapped and Wanda snickered.

"Hurry up now." She ordered. Then she hesitated. "Pietro, you and me are switching. You've caused enough problems with Lance." She jogged to the jeep and he nodded in understanding. She wanted to talk to Lance.

"Okay. Can't-really-promise-I'll-be-any-better-to-Daniels-though." He winked and jetted off.

Wanda climbed into her seat. Lance placed Rogue into her arms after she buckled in. He clicked his seat belt and hurried off as fast as he could without breaking the speed limit. Wanda gazed down sympathetically at the poor child. She tenderly moved a tuft of white bangs from her forehead, carefully avoiding touching the toddler's skin.

"Poor little thing." She whispered.

"Yeah. Just a baby and already she's got that awful curse of hers." Lance sighed softly. He cast a sidelong glance at Wanda who looked close to tears.

"What do we do now, Lance?" She muttered. "What if something happens? This isn't even about getting in trouble anymore...It's like we were playing games with matches. Not only will there be hell to pay, but it'll hurt too."

Lance nodded somberly. "Let's get her to the doctor. Then we'll go from there. She'll be okay." He placed a hand on Wanda's shoulder comfortingly. "She has to be. She's been in worse messes than this."

"But she wasn't three, Lance." The younger girl gently reminded. "And she sort of knew what was going on about her powers."

Lance sighed deeply and stared intently at the road. "I know. We just have to hope lady luck's on her side."

At that moment Rogue started crying. She struggled and sat up. "Wha's app'nin' ta me? Why?" Then her green eyes flashed blue.

"What's going on? Who are you people? Why am I not back at the pool?" She asked in fear in a voice that was not her own. There was no three-year-old mumble and no southern twang. Wanda sat back looking startled. "Where's my body? I don't look like this! I am not a baby!"

The green eyes came back and were full of fear.

"Marie, calm down." Wanda advised. "Don't panic. Okay honey?" The little girl looked confused and very upset but stifled the crying a little.

Remy, who had been sitting quietly in the back seat growled. "Y' can' jus' tell her t' calm down! She be terriflied! Remy kin feel it." He crossed his arms and scowled at Lance and Wanda.

"This is just not my week." Lance sighed as he pulled into the parking lot and savagely parked. "Come on." He hurried out of the car. He gave Remy freedom from the car as Wanda rushed to the door. Lance took Rogue from her because they'd recognize him. He ordered Wanda to fill out the papers. She obeyed but when she got to the line that asked for the cause of the visit to the emergency room she hesitated and wrote, 'pool side accident'.

It was a slow day and they only had to wait about five minutes before a familiar face greeted them. "We are ready for her." She nodded quietly.

"Lorna, we need to see you and your uncle." Lance requested sternly. Lorna nodded and led the group into a room.

"My uncle will be right in. What happened?" the girl frowned.

Lance looked down at Rogue who'd fallen into an uneasy sleep due to exhaustion. "There was an accident. At the pool. Some idiot pushed her into an area where she couldn't swim in. The life guard got to her but touched her skin, and well, she's a mutant." His eyes were panicky.

"Carol Danvers? Is that the lifeguard?"

"Yeah."

"She was just brought in. So that's what happened to her? A mutant's powers?"

"Got it in one. This mutant." Wanda sighed with a gesture towards Rogue. "She can't touch anyone skin to skin. It has Marie terrified and since she absorbed that girl, part of her is floating around in her head."

Lorna nodded curtly. "What happened to Marie? She looks awful and plain exhausted."

"My guess is her powers drained her energy to use." Lance groaned. "I don't know what you can do, but is there anyway to help?"

Lorna sighed. "Not really, there is a little my uncle can help but we really aren't used to mutant toddlers. Not too many of those running around. But, we do have to check and make sure that her near drowning experience won't have any negative effects." With that the doctor entered the room.

"Good morning, what happened?" His face was worried as Lorna briefed him. "Dear me, that is serious." He moved quickly and removed an ear thermometer and protective covering. He put it to the girl's ear and it beeped. "Oh no, 102.3. That is a nasty fever." He removed a blanket from a drawer and wrapped it around her. "There's a rather unpleasant but realistic chance of pneumonia setting in since it was a water related accident." He put a stethoscope to the child's heart to hear her heartbeat and breathing.

"Her pulse rate is a bit too high, but I suppose that came from panic. Lorna, be a dear and go find her some clean clothes. Preferably something warm."

"Oh we have her clothes." Wanda reached for the diaper bag hanging from her shoulder. "We didn't want to waste time changing her." She removed the outfit she'd put on the child that morning and a warm green hooded sweater.

"Very good. Lorna, would you get the poor kid out of that wet swimsuit?" Lorna nodded and gently picked up Rogue and the clothes and put the whole bundle on a movable stretcher at her uncle's request. "Oh and go find a room with pediatric care. She may be here for a while."

"Yes sir." She inclined her head and then walked out.

The doctor turned back to Lance and Wanda. "If you don't mind me asking, what the devil happened this time?"

"Her powers came in while we at the pool." Lance sighed. "A lifeguard was holding her and she nearly drowned."

The doctor frowned. "What on earth did a lifeguard touch her for?"

"She fell in the deep end and couldn't swim."

"What was that little girl doing anywhere near the deep end?" The doctor snapped.

"She was watchin' Remy dibe offa de dibin' board sir." Remy piped up. "Remy can swim good." The four-year-old looked ashamed. "It all Remy's fault. De bully woudn'ta pushed 'er in if she stayed away."

"Somebody pushed her?" The doctor looked upset. "Who in their right mind would push a little thing like that girl into the deep end of a pool, knowing she couldn't swim?"

"A mutant hater." Wanda's voice was full of malice.

"I see." The doctor scrawled something on his notepad. "Do you know who?"

"Duncan Matthews." Lance nearly spat.

The doctor shook his head. "Prejudice is such a terrible thing. I pity the child. Her whole future will be filled with hatred and fear. And she's really nothing more than a baby." He sighed. "Well, come on, I'll see where Lorna got to and we can go visit your little sister." He exited the room and inquired about his niece at the main desk.

"Yes sir Doctor Shock." The secretary clacked away at her keyboard. "She's in room 123 administering a monitor to the three-year-old she just brought in."

"Thank you Kate." He smiled and gestured for Lance and Wanda to follow him with Remy in tow. "By the way Miss, I don't believe we've been properly introduced amidst the chaos. I am doctor Shock. I assume you are close to Mr. Alvers Remy and Marie."

"Oh yes very." She smiled. "I'm Wanda Maximoff, by the way. I've been close to Lance and Marie and Remy for quite a while."

The doctor said nothing but clearly smiled, thinking that she and Lance were a couple. Wanda rolled her eyes but didn't bother to set him straight.

They arrived at the room and entered. Lorna had tucked the toddler into the bed with warm blankets and clothes. She held a cool compress to her forehead. "I'm trying to break her fever." She explained. "She woke up crying and freaking out about seeing things in her head. Poor baby." She sighed.

"She wasn't hallucinating. It's part of her power." Lance groaned. "She's getting that lifeguard's memories."

The doctor examined the medical hook ups and nodded to Lorna. "Looks good. She should be comfy. Lance, Wanda, she'll probably need to stay a while for observation. I would recommend one of you taking Remy home."

"Non!" Remy glowered. "Remy stay til Marie be okay." He walked over to his friend's bedside and sat in the chair next to her. "Y' can' make me go 'way."

The doctor threw his arms up. "Whatever. She's asleep right now though."

Remy shrugged and stared at the girl. "Be aright Marie. _S'il te plais_?" He pleaded.

"Remy..." Wanda felt overwhelmed by the emotions in her. Pity, sympathy, fear, worry, pride, everything was mixed. She shook her head and sat by him. "She'll be okay Remy." She sat down by the boy who nodded.

Lance sighed. "How long does she need to stay?"

"Until that fever breaks and we can be sure there are no lingering problems." Lorna looked worried. "For such a young child, that sort of fever and the risk of pneumonia can be fatal."

Lance moved over to Rogue's bedside and put a gentle hand and Remy's shoulder and one on Wanda's. Worry glazed his features as he observed the girl, whose breathing was erratic and shaky. "Come on kid, don't do this to me. Or yourself, and especially not to your best friend." He murmured softly.

Lorna smiled ruefully at her uncle. "They make such a cute little family. but anyway, what should I do next?"

"Go find a way to resuscitate ms. Danvers. This is mutant damage that must not reach the public. People will be prejudiced against this poor three-year-old. I don't want to be the cause of her discovery."

The young girl moved to the other side of the room and passed the curtain divider. Her uncle followed. A young woman in the room looked up.

"Is she going to be okay?" Carmen asked nervously.

"We hope so." The doctor sighed as he scanned the monitors. "Still no brain activity. But her pulse and breathing are stabilized. There does seem to be hope."

"How's the little girl? Did Lance and the others bring her here?" She asked in curiosity.

"Yes. She's situated in this room beyond the curtain." Lorna gestured.

Without waiting for anything further, Carmen pushed past the curtain. "Is she okay?" She asked nervously, startling Lance and Wanda and Remy.

"Carmen? Why are you still here?" Lance asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"If it was your best friend lying in a coma, wouldn't you be there?" She asked rhetorically.

Lance raised his eyebrow further and turned back to Rogue. She whimpered and tossed her head to the side.

"Poor thing..." Carmen started softly. "I feel like this whole mess is my fault."

Lance nodded absently and put a hand over the toddler's gloved one.

"She will be okay won't she?" The girl asked persistently.

"We don't know, alright?" Wanda snapped impatiently. Carmen tentatively wondered if this was the elusive girlfriend of Lance's. Sure he had said she was his aunt or something but she wondered if he lied. "This hasn't ever happened before."

Carmen bowed her head. "Sorry. I wish I hadn't been distracting you Lance. If it's any consolation, I hope she pulls through." With that she turned with a dramatic toss of her hair and headed back to Carol's section of the room.

"I do not like her." Wanda frowned as she watched the other girl walk away.

Lance nodded. "Its weird. When she's around I feel sick almost. Like I have no control over my thoughts or actions and everything is this big haze."

"I get a bad vibe off her." Wanda shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Mama?"

Wanda and Lance spun to look at Rogue whose eye's had opened and were blinking blue and green.

"Lance? Where am I? Wanda? What is going on? Ah don' feel good...Who are you people? Remy? Oh God, I'm in a three year old's body... Help meh..." The voice was switching from soft, Southern three-year-old to a strong and heavily confused and matured northern lack of accented voice. Along with each voice change, her eyes went from emerald to dimmed diamond.

The doctor opened the curtain and approached. "She's awake? Good. I'm going to need a blood sample." Lorna hurried and retrieved a syringe and needle from a cabinet.

"Hold her still please." She asked Lance sternly. He gently but firmly picked her up and held her still. Remy shyly took her hand.

" It'll be aright Marie. _Je te promet._" He whispered.

"Remy, make it stop." She whimpered and lay her head miserably on Lance's shoulder.

"Make what stop?" He asked curiously.

"Mah head hurts. An' Ah heah the lipegourd's voice in mah head." She sniffled.

Lorna sighed and attempted to pierce the child's vein, despite the wail of pain. All who were present gaped in shock as the needle snapped.

Marie lifted her head and stared at the broken needle in wonder. She whimpered and buried her face back in Lance's shoulder.

"What just happened?" He asked in an upset voice.

"I...I don't know." Lorna blinked as she stared at the two pieces of the needle. "The needle broke when it touched her skin. It was as if it couldn't get through her skin..." She sent a confused look to her uncle.

"Aw crap." Lance frowned. He turned to where Carmen sat with her friend, watching curiously. "Is she a mutant?"

"That really is not your business, Lance." The doctor scolded gently.

"No, if she is, then Marie absorbed her powers." Lance's voice rose in panic.

"Yeah, she is." Carmen stated cautiously. "I don't know all her powers, but she's abnormally strong and I think she can fly. Oh and she's invulnerable to getting hurt."

Lance and Wanda cursed at the same time, an odd sight that apparently amused the four-year-old present.

"Y' not apposedta say dose words." He smirked. "Manda yelled at Eban _hier_ fo' sayin' dat word." He chuckled.

Doctor Shock coughed to hide a chuckle and Lorna giggled quietly and then grew serious again. "Well that would explain why I can't get the needle through her skin."

Wanda sighed and frowned. "And now the fun begins."

Marie blinked up at her caretakers. "Ah'm sorry." She sounded ashamed of herself.

"Oh Marie, its not your fault." Lance smiled gently. Suddenly the blue eyes were back.

"Who the heck are you? Put me down! I don't belong here! I want to be twenty-one again! This isn't my body!" She struggled out of Lance's arms and tried to run. Remy got in her way.

"Marie What de matter? Y' okay?"

"Get outta my way, kid!" She snapped. As she pushed past him, sending him flying in an ungraceful heap three feet away. "And my name is not Marie! It's Carol!"

Remy sat up and looked confused. "Non, y' _mon amie_ Marie. Y' not no Carol..."

The girl scowled at him as he stood in her path again, tears of pain from where his casted arm had hit the floor forming in his demon eyes.

She crossed her arms and turned away. In doing so she caught sight of Carmen. "Carmen! Tell them! Tell them its me! Tell me you know I'm not some baby!"

Carmen looked startled. "Carol?"

"Yes!" The child's face cracked into Rogue's familiar smile of relief. "Carmen its me! I can prove it!" She hurried over. "Like, do you remember the time last year when you and I went to that party and you discovered your allergy to kiwis by-" Carmen had covered her mouth as a tinge of pink soared over her tanned features.

"Okay. It's her. Only Carol Danvers has that memory."

Lance groaned. "Joy. Now she's a skitzo." Rogue's body turned with a scowl. Then Carol gasped and turned back to the comatose body Carmen stood next to.

"Oh no! NONONONONONONONONONONO!" She blinked. "What happened?! That is not good!" Tears hit her eyes.

"Miss Danvers?" Lorna began hesitantly. "We're doing all we can to help this situation. Please do not panic."

"Why would I panic? I'm just stuck in the body of a little baby who probably isn't even toilet trained! And I'm looking at my body in a coma...I don't see any reason to panic!" She cried hysterically. Carmen moved quickly to catch the fragile body inches before her head hit the floor. She cradled her gently.

"Its okay Carol. It's okay. Calm down. Shh. It'll be alright."

With a soft moan the blue eyes closed gently and she fell limp. The doctor rushed to get her back to the bed.

"Oh no," Wanda's eyes filled with terror as she and Lance and Remy rushed to the bedside. "Oh please no...Please let her be okay." She whispered.

"Marie..." Remy's own eyes were widened and horror struck. Lance swallowed roughly and closed his eyes.

The doctor worked feverishly as he hooked her back in. When Carol had woken up, she'd pulled all the connections. "I'm trying kids, but unfortunately, no promises." He frowned as Carmen bit her lip in anxiety. "Come on Marie, pull through." He whispered. "There isn't much more we can do. The whole situation is perplexing and since she's a mutant I have absolutely no idea how to handle this. Her power is very strange, is it not? And it is almost as if Carol Danvers is in her body too."

"Part of her is." Lance shook his head and squeezed the child's hand. "Part of her psyche is now part of Marie. But she has never had a psyche gain control of her body..."

Lorna put a hand, protected by a thin sanitized hospital glove to the toddler's forehead. "She's burning up again. And according to the signs from the monitors, she's unconscious again but it looks like she's in distress." She watched for a moment as the child's facial expressions crinkled and changed.

"Poor baby." Lorna sighed. "I don't know what to do for her...I can give her a small dose of Children's Tylenol when she wakes up but not too much else. She's so little I don't really know what else I can give her."

Suddenly Rogue's fussing and moving around ceased and everyone looked toward her expectantly. "She's sleeping." The doctor finally announced with a soft smile of relief. "Poor little thing must be exhausted."

Lance smiled in relief. "Will she be alright then? And will Carol take over again?"

"I honestly don't know that." The doctor frowned. "But it looks like she'll make it. I am not too used to dealing with mutant toddlers, however."

Wanda bit her lip in thought. "Lance, do you know anyone who does know mutants medically?"

Lance thought for a moment. "A few. But Jean's unavailable, Dr. McCoy's in Europe, same for the professor and Ms. Monroe. Mystique's, well, God only knows where she went, pity too because she might be useful. I can't really think of anyone." He sighed in worry. "Do you know anyone else?"

Wanda shook her head. "Well, I know the professor has this friend in Scotland, but I don't know how to reach her..."

The doctor cleared his throat. "Hm, I may be able to refer you to a doctor in training up in NYC. He's a mutant himself, real miracle worker from what I'm told. Great with kids too. The only problem is nobody is supposed to know he is a mutant, because New York City wants nothing to do with them." The doctor scratched his chin in thought. "He could possibly come here...transporting the girl might be foolish."

Lorna nodded. "I'll go call for him to come on by." She turned and headed to the front desk.

"I know this is hard for you both." The doctor commented to Lance and Wanda. "And little Remy too, I can barely imagine. But there is not too much that can be done. One of you should bring the boy home. Actually you should probably both go."

The stony glares he received from the three mutants crowding around the girl's beside responded louder than words. "Fine. Never mind. At least go and get yourselves some soda or something. I have to go check on some other patients. Press the call button if there's any change." He turned and headed out the door.

Carmen, who was still hovering nearby sighed. "Poor Carol. This must be so scary."

"It's more like poor both of them." Lance curled his lip. He looked back at the prone form of the three year old girl. "Wanda, I changed my mind, I want to talk to professor X. I'm not ready to handle these kids...none of us are. And I make an awful guardian. Look at me, I've already had to get Gambit in a cast and now Rogue is here and I've been fighting with Pietro and in a cranky and cocky mood thinking I don't need help but I do Wanda, I really do..." He hung his head and she gently put an arm on his shoulder.

"Now don't talk like that hon," Carmen sighed before Wanda had a chance to reply. "I'm sure this mess isn't your fault. Spread the blame." She raised an eyebrow at Wanda before continuing. "Now don't you worry your poor brain about this. You didn't predict the rugrat's poison skin affecting Carol."

Wanda glared in disgust as Remy huffed.

"Who d' y' fink y'are? Marie ain' a rugrat, an' it not her fault that what happened happened." The four-year-old looked at her with malice.

Carmen ignored him. "So anyway Lance, this whole thing with the little brat? Don't worry about it. What's the worst that can happen? Even if she dies, so what? It just means you don't have to worry about her." She put a hand on his shoulder gently. She batted her eyes up at him and his eyes suddenly glowed a faint pink. Her lips curled into a coy grin as she tossed her hair flirtily.

"What are you on?" Wanda crossed her arms in disbelief. "How can you take that attitude about a little girl?" She asked in disgust.

"Its simple really." Carmen glared coldly at the other girl. "You look out for _numero uno_ in life. A little brat dies, sure its sad, but it means more for you. You live another day. More food, more shelter, more money. Less responsibility, less agitation."

"That's disgusting!" Wanda accused.

"That's reality, _chica_." Carmen shrugged. "Only the strong survive. Survival of the fittest. Bleeding hearts say _niños_ are the hope of the future, but the cold hard truth is you have to worry about the present before the future or you won't be in it and then what's the point?"

Wanda wrinkled her nose in displeasure. "That's an awful way to look at the future or the present."

"Its how the world has forced me to look at it." Carmen corrected. "But you wouldn't understand, would you? Living up at Xavier's, being pampered and coddled all your life, you're like a pet poodle. You can't even handle the truth. You don't know true hunger, or blistering cold nights with no home to go home too. No family and no friends to comfort you. Nobody caring if you are dead in some ditch by the side of the road on a stormy night. You've never had to beg for scraps from people and pray they take mercy on the growling of your weeks empty stomach." Carmen's Spanish accent grew thicker as she talked. "You've never had to sleep in a box to keep out of the rain. You've never been homeless and so desperate you'd do anything for food." She broke off glaring. "You're life, like all the little Xavier pets has always been and will always be perfect." She grumbled bitterly.

Wanda felt overwhelmed but her temper was rising. She felt pity for this girl but she was also feeling guilty and ashamed and angry. "You don't know anything about me or my life. Don't you dare pretend you do."

Carmen shrugged. "Hey I won't. Just saying, is all. Its true. I can tell you've never been a street _chica_. Its fairly obvious."

Wanda frowned and looked away. Carmen rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Lance who was mindlessly staring blankly at the wall.

"Now, anyway, Lancey...don't worry about the kid, alright?" She tenderly touched his cheek and he nodded emotionlessly. "It isn't your fault, okay? Tell her that." She coaxed and nodded at Wanda who was sulking. "Tell her not to worry about you so much." She cooed.

"I'll be fine, Wendy." He uttered monotonously.

"Excuse me, Lance? Wendy?" She glowered at him.

'Damn, he was supposed to forget her entirely.' Carmen said to herself in agitation. 'Instead he's held onto part of her damn name. How's he fighting it? I cannot be losing my touch. He's either got a stronger will than I thought or there's something going on with him and her.' At this last possibility she raised an eyebrow. 'Yep. Gotta be it. He was mine at the pool, when she was with everyone else.'

She batted her eyes at him again and all the white in his eyes was glowing pale pink. She grinned and traced a finger up his arm to his neck.

"Lance, er, are you alright?" Lance looked like he was on another planet. His eyes were glazed pink and unblinking and staring straight ahead.

"I don't think he feels up to answering you at the current time, Wendy." Carmen smirked. She gently stroked his chin. "Do you Lancey?"

He gently shook his head no. She smiled and leaned up and left a soft kiss on his cheek. "Good boy."

"Woah! Quit it!" Wanda shook her head in horror. "Stop!"

"Make me." Carmen taunted as her arms snaked up Lance's back.

"Look you little brazen hussy you have no right to get so...physical with him!"

"Brazen hussy am I?" Carmen raised an appraising eyebrow. "And of course, you're the raining judge on that I suppose?" The girl gestured to the tight red tank top, and gothic black pants with chains and zippers all over that Wanda had thrown on under her scarlet trench coat on the way to the hospital. Carmen had managed to change into tight fitting bellbottom jeans and a second-skin pink tee shirt. Wanda felt Carmen had a whole lot of nerve commenting on her like that. "After all, people in parks aren't commenting on me being an unwed mother are they?"

"You shut your fat mouth." Wanda snapped.

"Touchy, touchy." Carmen tutted. "Poor thing, the little mommy X-girl has a temper."

"You lousy little..."

"Oh and a potty mouth." the other girl smirked, clearly enjoying the fact that she was riling the Goth up. "As far as I can see, you have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do with him. Let's see, he called you his aunt, but you aren't are you?"

Wanda growled and struggled to control her temper.

"Oh come now. I was born on a Saturday, but it wasn't last Saturday. You are in no way his aunt are you?"

"No." Snapped Wanda. "I'm his..." She thought back to the brotherhood days. "I'm his sister. But close enough."

"Right, and I'm the tooth fairy."

Wanda shrugged. "Hey whatever floats your boat."

"Still, I think Lance is capable of thinking for himself."

"Not with you doing whatever you're doing. And he's a teenage guy. His brain isn't properly developed yet. You're toying with his mind...or at least his thought processes." She frowned. "So somebody needs to stand to remind him that he has a beloved girlfriend who would be destroyed if he was having an affair. That and, I don't have to watch him make out with you even if he was giving his real consent!"

Carmen sneered smugly. "Then get out." With that she leaned up and crashed her lips against his. Wanda stared weakly as she coiled her arms around his neck and he put his arms around her small waist blankly. His eyes closed and eventually the need for air forced him to pull away. His eyes were closed and full of bliss.

"I love you so much, Kit..." He breathed softly.

"What did you just call me?" Carmen shoved him away angrily.

"What the Hell just happened?" Lance yelped as he backed away. "Oh my...oh no...Tell me I didn't just..." He looked to Wanda who nodded sadly. "I think I hafta hurl." He looked indeed nauseas at the prospect of what had just happened.

Carmen looked at Lance in disgust and Wanda received a glare of pure loathing. She grumbled and tossed her hair angrily.

"You can't say I didn't tell you he has a girlfriend." Wanda crossed her arms.

"You can't say I asked you, bitch." Carmen growled as she stalked over to her own side of the room where Carol lay comatose. Though she was feeling ashamed and humiliated, she had no intention of showing it. She had known he had a girlfriend, but nobody had ever fought her off this completely before. Her powers, once a guy was hooked, rarely failed her. And she had to admit, it hurt that they had.

"Well then, its a good thing I don't charge for my first bit of advice, then isn't it?" Wanda smirked.

"Are you trying to upset me?" Carmen turned with malice in her eyes..

"I wouldn't say I'm trying." Wanda shrugged. Amusement danced in her eyes. "I'd say I'm succeeding."

Carmen's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh really? Cuz maybe you should learn to keep your big mouth shut and go home and tend to your kids." The girl sneered.

"Oh I'm sorry, is that supposed to make me cry or something?" Wanda raised an eyebrow. "I really don't care what you say to me. You and I both know the truth."

"ugh! Just shut up!" Carmen rolled her eyes exasparated. She was confused by the fact that it had worked before but now Wanda was shrugging it off like nothing.

"Oh is that the best you can do?" Wanda taunted.

Carmen growled and moved to Wanda's face. Lance noticed so many similarities. They were matched for height and size. Both had black hair and artificial red in it. Fire blazed in their eyes but it ended there.

Carmen was shaking with rage evident. She absently tossed her long and silky hair over her shoulder as she glared at Wanda with silver green eyes and heart shaped pupils, as her lip curled into a sneer. Wanda on the other hand, was standing calmly with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised and a hint of amusement in diamond blue eyes. A smug smirk tugged at the corner of her lip, as if daring this other girl to start something.

"I'm waiting." She stated peevishly as Carmen hesitantly drew a hand back to hit the girl in front of her.

A spark flashed in her eyes and her fist would have flown but it was stopped by a strong hand that was attached to the arm of a tall and strong blond man in a white lab coat.

"Ladies, please contain yourselves! This is a hospital!" He said sternly and Lance, Wanda, and Carmen all looked up. Lance was unimpressed but both girls blinked. They took in his wavy golden blond hair, cerulean blue eyes, perfect smile, broad shoulders and both looked impressed. In fact, much to the shock of Lance, who'd never known the Goth before him to even notice guys to look good, Wanda's cheeks gained a pink tint as she smiled and when the guy in front of her winked upon catching her staring, she hastily looked away. Lance raised an eyebrow at her.

Carmen on the other hand wasn't dealing with it shyly. She nodded her approval. And while her newfound rival had remained focused upon his face, she had observed the very expensive shoes and obviously designer suit under the lab coat with obvious interest.

But to her frustration, Wanda received a wink and she caught none of his gaze. She cursed the fact that her powers required eye contact.

Lorna entered the room. "Oh hello Doctor. I'm so glad you could make it." She blushed and hastily brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

The doctor rolled his eyes. "Lorna, I've told you a million times, don't be so formal, it makes me feel old."

"Sorry, Mr. Worthington." She blushed.

"Lorna...that is how one would address my father." He shook his head.

"Sorry sir."

"Lorna..." He warned. "We're friends right?" she nodded, flushing furiously. "Alright then. Hi Lorna. How are you?"

"Oh I'm alright, sir." He threw his arms in the air in exasperation. "Warren." She corrected quickly.

Dr. Worthington or Warren rolled his eyes affectionately and shared a look with Lance that said 'girls. They make everything so complicated, don't they?' Lance chuckled in agreement.

"Okay anyway, now I was not called here for idle chit chat, there are two lovely ladies who need my medical help. I'll take care of the toddler first and then I'll see what I can do for Miss Danvers, is that alright?"

"Sure thing _mi amigo._" Carmen shrugged. Wanda sent her a confused look to which she smirked with an 'I know something you don't' look in her eyes.

"Okay, here we have Marie Darkholme." He read from a sheet of paper in a small file.

"Marie Anna Darkholme." Remy corrected impatiently. "Dat be her name. She be _trois ans._" The boy announced.

The doctor smiled and reached down to ruffle the boy's hair. "Such a clever little boy you are. And so smart."

Remy threw his hands to his head. "Don'! Why do all o' y' fink y' gots de rights t' do dat!?" He glared upward but the doctor had already passed.

"Okay, mutant toddler, powers activated, high fever, pushed into a pool, high risk of pneumonia, very young and possibly inexperienced male guardian..." He looked inquisitively at Lance who nodded.

"Yeah, I guess that's me."

"Alright, first is this your daughter?"

"What!? Hell no!" Lance shook his head.

"Okay, just asking." Doctor Worthington smiled in amusement. "I need to ask because it is fully possible. You're what? Twenty? Twenty-one? I daresay you can't possibly be older than twenty-five...or younger than seventeen."

"I'm nineteen, sir." Lance stated firmly.

"Well, its still a possibility. You must admit if she was your child, you wouldn't be the first sixteen year old father." He pointed out gently.

"Well I'm not." Lance restated.

"Alright, I believe you." With that, he took a glance at the child, sleeping fitfully in the hospital bed. He inhaled a sharp gasp. "You said you came from Xavier's?"

"Uh yeah." Lance answered in confusion.

"Are you in any way affiliated with the..." Dr. Worthington trailed of into a question. He didn't want to expose the professor's group if he didn't have to, and there was a chance Lance was lying. "With professor Charles Xavier?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. We live there and we're, well I guess you could call us X-men in training." He rummaged in his pocket until he found a small yellow disc shaped communicator with the familiar red and black X insignia emblazoned on it. Wanda took her cue to fish around her pocket for her own.

"Oh, X-men." He nodded and they put their communicators away. "Well that explains it." He glanced back at the bedridden child. "Because she looks exactly like..."

"We know." Wanda cut him off. "We'll tell you the story later." She surreptitiously gestured to Carmen and Lorna.

"Y'll make her better, won' y'?" Remy pleaded. The doctor didn't even look at him before answering as he put a thermometer under the little girl's tongue.

"I'll try kiddo." He turned to smile at the four-year-old and noticed the red-and-black eyes filling with relief. He turned sharply to Lance and Wanda. "Don't bother, I'm sure I can piece together the story on my own."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**Ok so here ends chapter fourteen completed December 29th. I believe I've left you with a bit to think** **on. I did a little changing for Carmen's character. Hope none of you were getting to attached to her as a protagonist. I figured I could deal with an antagonist. This new improved her keeps her further from Mary Sue levels and will make it a little more interesting. Ok and personally I think Marvel gave Carol Danvers the way short end of the stick so I'm gonna handle it my way. Oh and before anyone asks, yes the doctor is Angel but Lance and Wanda never met him. I honestly can't remember but I think I said apocalypse never happened and if I said it did, well I use my supreme right as the creator of this story to revoke it. Oh and Rogue is one of my absolute faves so do you really think she's doomed to meet her demise as a three year old because Duncan pushed her into a pool?**

** Oh by the way, if ANY OF YOU OUT THERE are reading the story I'm doing with howlerdrode 'End of the World' I handled the situation differently in that one. If you are sick of babies go check it out. I know the first three chapters are dry if you aren't familiar with Legion of Super Heroes by DC but it was mostly background for an awesome story that will be really fun to read I promise. And the legion will be further explained. Please read it! You have no idea how insulting it is to put our hearts and souls into a story that almost nobody reads. You like my stuff, check it out! Only review here first if you please.**

** Oh before I forget, I asked my quotes earlier. I don't want to retype so if you want to do it, go back up. I also have a question...lets see...oh here's a nice open ended question...WHY IS MARVEL DESTROYING THE ROMY IN LIKE EVERY UNIVERSE THEY HAVE!? Okay so answer that in your review.

* * *

**

**Oh and here are the translations. Anything in italics is hereby a foreign language and will be translated at the end of the chapter.**

**French: **

**_M'sieu _**alternate form of _monsieur _ mister

**_Je m'appelle _**My name is

**_Pas de _**Not

**_Fiche moi la paix _**leave me alone

**_ne pas mon pére _**not my father

**_homme _**man

**_maman _**mommy

**_S'il te plait _**please**_  
_**

**_Je te promet_** I promise

**_hier_** yesterday

**_mon amie _**my female friend

* * *

**Spanish:**

**_numero uno _**number one

_**chica **_girl

**_niños _**children

**_mi amigo_** my male friend


	15. RETURN TO THE INSTITUTE

**Ok I know it's been a while. Tech problems are one of the scourges of Earth I swear it. And what's up with this new fanfiction thing where we can't have song lyrics? I had to take my one shot Riot Girl off the air, and I had to edit the first chapter of Heart's Desires and I don't find it particularly fair. Anyway, welcome back. I hope to get back into stride of more frequent updates starting soon and I'm sorry it's taking so long to get my stuff up. Apparently school doesn't want me having any life out side of its walls. The teachers are piling on the homework and tests and I'm about a week behind in the sleep I'm missing cuz I'm up doing my algebra, french, chemistry, and history homework until late. Oh well, guess my grades are important. On a happier note I have found a whole new assistant. Her name is Avatar and she was one of my assassin penguins but she wanted a job so she came to me to work with her new friends the Swedish Ninja like monkies. So now while I go on a quest to find the pink sock which will give me the happy power to claim all that is Marvel, Avatar will answer the delightful reviews I got, by using the little blue book I left for her. I'll see you guys a little later.**

**Hi Molly here. Heartsyhawk wishes to thank everyone who's been reading and reviewing and being so patient with her staggered updates. So here're her responses to you guys.**

**A Cute But Psycho Bunny- **Yep I updated. No problem, I was a bit panicky about the Carol Danvers thing for a while. I spazzed out and went nuts making sure I didn't miss an episode. Eventually I pieced together the truth. Glad you like it, thank you for the review!

**xmengirlzrule-** Yea Carmen's a bit different than most OC's I've seen, but that's intentional. Hey I don't even like her too much so I have no problems with you feeling that way. Don't worry, I couldn't hurt Rogue on a permanent basis. I love her and Remy too much to do that. Glad you like it thanks for reviewing!

**howlerdrode-** LOL great plan. Don't worry Carmen will get what's coming to her. And Wanda will definitely not always or maybe ever get along with the girl. Especially with what I have planned but if I told you what that was, I'd have to kill ya and I don't want to do that especially since we're still writing our story together. And that sounds pretty much accurate about what Marvel is doing with Rogue and Remy but it's getting to the point where it's almost time to worry. I mean Scott and Jean were a couple for like forever but now He's married to Emma Frost and Jean's dead and who knows what! I just wish we didn't have to deal with hearing about Remy and every non-Rogue female in the Marvel Universe and Rogue and her little affairs at every opportunity. Thanks for reviewing!

**DreamSprite-** Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing.

**Fox-** Glad you like it and between you and me I don't much like Carmen either. Thanks for the review!

**SickmindedSucker- **Yep Warren's in on the action now. And yea Lance needs to realize he can't do everything. He needs help on this one, like majorly. Nah Duncan can't die. It would get the mutant haters all riled up and it would mean a whole lot of paperwork I'd rather not deal with. Plus I hear prison food is worse than school food so we'll just have to let him live and be dealt with accordingly. Gee Carmen doesn't seem to be to popular with anyone...I agree with you, Carmen is a total she-dog. But had Wanda hit her then and there it would have deprived both girls of the conflicts they haven't had yet. Don't worry, she'll gets what coming her way I promise. Of course I'm still writing, I love it way too much to stop. Glad you like it so much and thanks for the review.

**Sweety8587-** LOL yea that was rather villianous but you bring up an awesome point; we shouldn't let Marvel make us unhappy. We should all speak out! Anyway thanks for reviewing!

**Black Cat of the Black Rose- **Interesting opinion. Sadly I cannot just declare that I own it at this point and time. Which is why I am currently on a quest to find the pink sock of magical proportions which shall give me that happy power. Thanks for reviewing.

**RebelRogue127-** Don't worry, I couldn't bear to leave Rogue in such an unbalanced schizophrenic state. I love her way too much. And as for Warren, I do have plans for him involving Betsy. Thanks for the review!

**ishandahalf-** LOL Carmen will get what's coming to her, that I promise. I agree, it is sweet of li'l Remy to be so worried. I have a few vague ideas how things'll play out when they grow up again. Don't worry all the pre-Kindergarten Romyness will NOT be in vain. Glad you liked it, Thanks for the review!

**Furry Elf-** Don't worry it wasn't something in Evolution. I think I read something about Warren volunteering in a hospital or something in one of the comics I read years ago. Actually any information you can offer on the subject would be helpful. Between you and me, I'm working on this one story called Baby Blue...shh its a secret don't tell everyone. It'll be up after I get my next story up. Only that one won't be quite so long winded because I'll be basing off a script. Anyway yeah you're right on the second episode and I'll reveal the names of both a bit later. Thanks for the review!

**Allie-** Yep congrats. That's the name of the second episode and I'll tell the first a little later. Thanks for reviewing.

**MidniteAngelGoth- **Wow I'm flattered. Yeah I know it's a bit long but that's part of what makes it so fun to write for me. I love writing the kids so much. Glad you like it so much, thank you very much for the review!

**EmeraldKatsEye- **Glad you liked Remy, that seems to be the major consensus about Carmen. Sorry it creeped you out. Thanks for the review!

**ldypebsaby- **Roguey's one of my favorites to start with and now that she's a baby she's all that much more precious. Don't worry, she'll get better. As for the abilities, I think she'll probably keep them but if all goes well that won't apply to the permanent houseguest in her head. LOL Not many people do like Carmen...Heck I don't even like her that much and she's my OC...Well thank you for the review!

**Ton Tante du Nord-** LOL glad you liked it so much. Great expression by the way, very cool. Thanks for the review!

**La Paix- **Yeah it is very interesting. I've always wanted to do the Carol Danvers scenario and this opened up the first chance to do so. I personally like the effect. Well, I feel a little like a creep for letting it happen to a three year old when it nearly destroyed the teenage Rogue in the comics. But maybe with more friends at three it'll go smoother than when she was sixteen and shut off from the world, God willing. Yeah I still love the penguins. That's why I hired Avatar back. I know a whole bunch of New Englanders. Wicked is definitely big with them. Thanks for the review!

**Silent Doom-** Hey no problem. I fully understand. In reality I love hearing from anybody all the time. It tickles me pink to get reviews. I don't mind infrequent reviews I just love getting em. And to be fair I don't exactly update on a set schedual either. Of course it doesn't sound negative or cynical. I love constructive criticism. Even more than I love the standard cookie cutter "Yay this great update soon!" review. I kinda enjoyed Carmen becoming the antagonist. Too many people do OC's who are just so annoyingly perfect and then dump pity party's all over them and it is okay for a while but then it quickly loses all charm. The thing with Warren, I think I read a comic a long time ago where he was volunteering in the hospital or something. Yea now the plot has actual ability to move onward. Sorry if the dialogue's a bit much or a bit awkward. I'm trying to balance it but I'm still in the newbie stages I guess but I am improving. Glad to hear you like it. Thank you for all your constructive criticism and the review!

**catti-** Yeah I found that one, thanks for pointing it out. I guess silly oopses happen when a somewhat new writer starts out. I'm learning from my mistakes earlier though and that's what counts right? Thanks for the review.

Thank you for pointing that out. I know how to spell it, it just must have slipped out of my notice. Thank you for reviewing

**Dragon-of-Spades-** Glad you like it thank you for the review!

**MagCat- **LOL glad you like it. I checked your story out and it looks pretty good. Don't worry, the jonda-ness will come eventually. But I can't just do cold start automatic passion...that would detract from it. Thanks for reviewing.

**silverbells-** Do not worry, I wouldn't quit this if I was paid. I love writing and sometimes the ucky real world bogs me down with trivial stuff but I will definitely keep doing this. LOL ya I do make a lot of rookie errors, thank you for pointing them out. I'm trying to get better with it. Yea I know the baseball thing. I think I found a couple of college teams and stuck them in, besides would a three year old really know the difference? Thank you for the hints and the reviews!

**blackwingedhorse- **Um not too sure on the fast part, but update I did! Glad you like the story and thanks for the review!

**misspresh-** Glad you like it, he's one of my favorites too. Thanks for reviewing.

**DemonicGambit-**Ok then, Roguey's fine I could never hurt her. Thanks for the review!

**Lady Irony-** Yeah probably, but it does sound funny. And the extent of my Aussie accent comes from various and probably unrelyable sources. Ok, I'll be a bit easier on the translation of the obvious accents then. Thanks for the advice, glad you liked the story, thanks for the review!

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Dr Worthington frowned disapprovingly as he checked the clip board with Marie's data and stats scrawled on it. Lance and Wanda took merely seconds to look uneasy knowing what was running through the doctor's mind. Both of them knew at least one of Lance's lies was about to become undone. Wanda could barely keep his story straight to start as she hadn't heard most of it.

She bit her lip in thought. Should she allow Rogue to get a horrible reputation with this guy who obviously knew her, or should she call the lie and have chaos break loose? She didn't know but she could tell Lance was fighting a similar mental battle.

Dr. Worthington was visibly disturbed by his revelation but maintained a professional air. He worked to break her fever as he asked a few questions about what happened and how. After about half an hour he turned to face the others in the room, breaking the uneasy quiet.

"She should be okay. Her stats are stabilizing and her fever is down. She's currently sleeping. Apparently this ordeal exhausted her poor little body." He sighed and gently tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear. "She'll need to rest for a while, and be sure to make certain that she drinks a lot of fluids. Keep her warm and try not to let her overreact to anything."

"Okay." Lance nodded meekly.

"I see no real reason to keep her hospitalized overnight, but if there is any change you had best get her back immediately."

Wanda bit her lip and nodded.

"So we're clear on that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Be sure to tell her _parents_ what needs to be done." He said in a polite tone but when he said parents it seemed as if the word left a nasty aftertaste in his mouth.

"We're taking care of her. Its really a long story." Lance smiled, not wanting to really explain.

"Oh. Well that much makes sense. I suppose." Warren looked exasparated. "Anyway, now what's the story with our other patient?" He strode over to Carol's side of the room.

"The little _chica_'s powers knocked her out." Carmen flashed a dazzling smile.

"And you would be?"

"Carmen Rodriguez." She replied, flustered that he wasn't fully looking at her. "Carol's my best friend. We share an apartment in New York. I'm the one who brought her here."

"Alright." The doctor skimmed the charts with his eyes, still not making eye contact. "Odd, I can't even detect any brainwaves that would indicate she's alive, yet everything else appears normal." He looked puzzled for a moment before turning quickly to Lance. "Are her powers anything remotely like-?"

Wanda's eyes widened and she cut him off. "Yes. Exactly."

Dr. Worthington rubbed his temples gingerly. "This is not what I had in mind when I trained to become a mutant specialist pediatrician." He looked at Dr. Shock in appology. "Daniel, your hospital really doesn't have the resources to deal with this. The only place in the world I can think of would be Xavier's medical lab."

"I see." The doctor frowned. "Would it be possible to relocate her there?"

"That is the only option I see that would help. I cannot begin to comprehend the way to fix this problem. I have a few contacts but they would require the technology only Xavier's has. That and doing what may need to be done would attract a lot of unnecessary demonstration against the hospital if any word got out that there were mutants involved." He ran a hand through his hair reluctantly.

"Understood."

"Wait, um, the professor isn't exactly home." Lance blurted. All eyes turned to him. "He and the other teachers are at that mutant right conference in Europe."

Warren raised an eyebrow. "Who is caring for the students and grounds then?"

Wanda smiled sheepishly and Lance gained a faint tint on his cheeks.

"Well. That would certainly account for the irresponsible activity." Dr. Worthington said dryly.

Both teens looked away.

"Can you gain access to the medical wing of the institute?" The doctor asked impatiently.

"Yea I guess." Lance frowned.

"Good. We should head over as soon as convienient for the sake of Ms. Danvers and Marie."

Lance nodded. Carmen quickly spoke up. "I'm coming too!"

"You can't just invite yourself into our home." Wanda scowled coldly.

"Wanna bet? She's my friend. I know everything about her!" Carmen crossed her arms.

"Ladies, please." Dr. Shock frowned. "Put your issues aside until after the incident is fixed."

Wanda glowered. Carmen smirked smugly. She was about to make a biting remark as Remy cried out. "She waked up!"

Marie sat up in the hospital bed, wide eyes brimming with fear.

"Hey sweetheart," Wanda smiled warmly. "How are you feeling?"

"Not very good." Rogue looked terrified. "Ah wanna go home. Ah want ma mama." Her voice was small and on the verge of tears.

Lance scooped her up securely in his arms. "Shh, it's okay Marie. Don't cry." He hugged her and her bottom lip trembled.

"Ah need mama. Ma head huts." She whimpered.

Remy took her hand gently. "Lance and Wanda says it'll be aright, so it will." He smiled.

"Its scary and Ah want Mama." Her eyes pooled with tears. "Please?"

Lance sighed, rocking her gently. "How about we go home to the big house we were at earlier and I can do my best to try to call your mom."

"Really?" Rogue's eyes brightened. "That'd be nice." She smiled and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Okay Wanda, Remy, Let's get going." Lance nodded to the door and started walking.

Wanda fell into step beside him. "How are you going to call her mother?" She hissed. "You don't know where Mystique is!"

"I'll try. Maybe your brother will know where your father is and that's a start." Lance smiled a half-smile.

Wanda took Remy's hand and followed Lance to the jeep. He buckled Rogue into her babyseat and helped Remy buckle his seatbelt wordlessly. Doctor Worthington had prepped a hospital van with machinery to help keep Carol stabilized and carefully strapped her in. Lorna and Carmen (much to Wanda's chagrin) had climbed in to be sure that all was well as Warren carefully entered the drivers seat. He pulled up alongside the green Jeep.

"I'll follow you up to the institute, alright?" the Doctor demanded sternly.

"Sure." Lance nodded bitterly. He put the Jeep in gear and started driving. His mind was racing. He knew his lies were currently nipping at his heels and closing in fast. There would be little he could do to fix that.

Wanda sat in her seat staring fixedly at her hands. She didn't really know what to say. She felt bad knowing Lance had meant well but now his lies were going to blow up in his face, but it was his lies that were making this difficult. She couldn't help but think that one call for help to the professor could have fixed this whole mess.

"We're here." Lance said quietly as he pulled into the driveway. He used a button installed on his dashboard to open the garage door and parked the Jeep in its designated spot. Slowly he climbed out, dread hanging over his head as he helped Rogue out of her baby seat and Wanda let Remy out of the seatbelt. "Brace yourself." Lance nodded to Wanda. The two entered the mansion as Warren, Carmen, and Lorna unloaded Carol.

There was a huge group awaiting the mutants as they entered.

"Is she alright?"

"What took so long?"

"What did the doctor say?"

Lance sighed. "We don't have time for this guys. The girl she touched is in a coma. Since they don't know how to wake up somebody from a mutant-power induced coma they brought her here. We're so busted."

Pietro gaped. "You-better-be-kidding." Wanda glowered. "Alright, Alright. I-got-it-already."

"Yeah so clear the way, we gotta get the girl down to the med-lab." Lance gritted his teeth.

Doctor Worthington entered and was followed by Carmen and Lorna who entered wheeling the temporary bed Carol lay in. Wordlessly, Lance, still carrying Rogue, quickly led the way down the hall to the med-lab.

"Nice place." Carmen commented, genuinely impressed with her surroundings.

"Yeah. I mean, Alex told me a lot about it from what he heard from his brother but he never described it as being this big. Or this nice." Lorna commented, awed.

"Alex as in Scott's little brother?" Evan who had been following with the others jerked in surprise.

"Um, yeah." Lorna shrugged. "I've been dating him for about a year."

"Wow." Spyke shook his head. "Small world after all."

Lorna shrugged. Carmen tilted her head to the side, surveying him. "Hm, Hey didn't you used to play basketball at my high school?"

"What school?"

"It was you! Eddy Daniels right?"

"No, my name's Evan." He frowned.

"Oh close enough." Carmen shrugged. "I got your last name."

Evan smiled uneasily. "Yeah I played ball in New York."

"Hm, then you transferred to this little pit stop on the road to nowhere." She commented in a bored tone. He winced. "Pity."

"I'll show you a pity you arrogant little-" Wanda growled but was cut off by Evan.

"Wanda, chill, it's cool."

Wanda looked at him strangely.

"I didn't really want to come here, and I still like NYC better." He smiled appologetically.

"Of course you do, its so much more, fast paced." Carmen batted her eyelashes and then she had him hook line and sinker.

"Yeah..." He smiled.

"Evan are you alright?" Wanda asked hesitantly. His eyes were glowing a pulsing pink. He had a goofy grin on his face and his movements were slurred.

"You're very pretty." He mumbled. "I never noticed how pretty you are..."

Wanda stepped slowly away. She raised an eyebrow. "Ok...that's disturbing."

"I think I might love you." He grinned. "Wanna go out with me?"

Her eyes widened. When she noticed Carmen's smirk she snarled. "What are you doing to him?"

"Now what on earth are you talking about?" Carmen smiled in a faux innocent manner.

"I'm not stupid. You did something weird to Lance and now Evan."

"Well then allow me to compliment you on your acting abilities, and now what would I have to do with this poor guy professing his love?"

"You are severely testing my patience." Wanda warned.

"Men, they're all so fun to manipulate, aren't they?" Carmen examined a nail with a haughty smirk. "Much better than girls."

"What do you mean? Is that your power? Manipulation of the mind or something?"

"Not hardly." Carmen laughed. "I've got a unique little 'gift'. I can manipulate hormones and emotions. Basically I can play around with love. With a little eye contact I can get anyone to be infatuated with me, to want and adore me. Well, really anyone but I'm only looking out for _numero uno._"

Wanda set a scowl on her face. "That's disgusting."

"That's reality." Carmen giggled and winked.

Fortunately at that moment their arrival at the door of the medlab prevented Wanda from replying. Dr. Worthington transferred the comatose body of Carol Danvers into one of the many vacant beds.

Lorna immediately helped hook the girl into the computer console. "Right," Warren nodded. "Good work Lorna."

The girl giggled and blushed a little as she turned to the group. Lance lay the fragile three year old's body into a bed at Carol's side at Warren's direction.

She looked excited and pretty contented. "Lance, are ya callin' mah mama now?"

Lance ran a hand through his hair and made a mental note to get a haircut sometime. He sighed at the hope in her pretty little eyes. He glanced to Pietro who was mildly scowling at Lorna. Apparently he was still sore about thier possibly shared parentage. He grabbed the speedster by the arm and dragged him a little away from the group.

"Pietro, you still have that cell phone of yours?"

"Huh? Of-course-I-do." Pietro raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Good. Can you contact your father?"

Pietro's blue eyes narrowed. "And-why-would-I-want-to-get-in-touch-with-_him?"_

Lance sighed again. "Rogue's sick. The kid wants to talk to her mom. Magneto is the only way I can think of to get in contact with Mystique." Lance hissed quietly. "I don't know what to do Pietro. Really I don't."

Pietro stared solemnly at the defeated look on his best friend's face. He looked away. "And-you-think-calling-either-of-those-two-monsters-will-help?"

"Pietro, its her mother. I know Mystique's a jerk but how do you tell a baby that?"

"You-need-to-learn-to-resist-girls-with-big-pretty-eyes, Alvers." Pietro sighed as he fished the tiny cell out of his pocket. "Speed-dial. Number-two." The blue eyes were serious. "That'll-patch-you-into-Mystique's-line-directly."

Lance's face flooded with relief. "Thanks."

"Don't-mention-it...really." Pietro rolled his eyes before growing serious again. "Just-think-before-you-do-it-huh? I-mean-yeah-cute-little-Marie-may-be-begging-for-her-mother, but-the-woman-messed-around-and-hurt-Rogue-to-the-point-where-she-doesn't-even-admit-who-Mystique-is."

"Pietro?" Lance blinked in shock. "Are you getting more mature sounding or is it just me?"

The speedster smirked. "Can-I-help-it-if-I-am-the-smartest-guy-around?"

"It helps to be humble." Lance smiled.

Pietro shrugged.

Lance went to dial the phone and looked a final time at the small child watching the doctor with caution. He didn't want to be the cause of her unhappiness...so this put him into quite a position. His finger hovered over the number 2 on the dial pad.

"Could everybody gather round, I need to discuss the situation." Dr. Worthington called irritatedly.

Lance slipped the phone into his pocket and rejoined the group.

"Alright now as I severely doubt that any of you are well informed on the procedure used in this med. lab, I need all of you to pay attention. There are to be no loud noises or behavior in here. I am treating a comatose victim of one of the children who live here. Speaking of, to prevent further incident I feel it would be best to keep her in here as well. She is still at risk for pneumonia and given the random and destructive tendencies of her powers..."

"Yo' gunna keep M'rie here?" Remy frowned.

"Yes child, regrettably I must."

Remy looked sad. Marie frowned softly. "But..."

"Really, its for the best." Warren smiled.

"Can Remy stay wif me?"

"I don't see much harm in that." The doctor shrugged.

"You no can make that happen!" Tabitha's small voice piped up. "It not be nice ta take the queen 'way an' leave her all lockeded up in bed!"

Dr. Worthington raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry princess but-"

"No call Tabby that!" Tabitha scowled. "Firstest you say queen gotsa be in bed, then you call Tabby that!"

"Cute kid." He told Lance dryly.

"You have no idea." The younger boy rolled his eyes.

Tabitha frowned and hid behind Wanda. "Make 'em be nice!"

Piotr picked the toddler up and headed to the danger room where the other kids were.

Dr. Worthington sighed. "Ok look. I'm going to be honest with you." He looked haggard as he ran a hand through his wavy blond hair. "I've never dealt with this situation, heck I'd wager nobody has. Rogue was always so careful with her powers there was never a situation to prepare for this. But even Rogue had problems controlling the response. I doubt counseling would even help her. But...a child so young...I don't even know how to begin."

Marie watched curiously from her seat on the bed. "Kay Ah'm bored now." She turned to Lance. "Can ya call mama now?"

Lance looked trapped. Wanda shrugged showing she had no clue what to tell her. Lance gulped. "Ok, I'll take you upstairs to do that a little later, okay Marie?"

"But Lance, Ah wanna talk ta her now..." Rogue pouted and filled her eyes with tears. "Ah miss Mama."

"Are you sure you don't want to wait until you're all better?" He tried hopefully.

"Nope." Rogue shook her head. "Now."

Lance's face washed with defeat. "Alright. Alright." He turned to the doctor who was more concerned with the unconscious patient at the moment. "Um, I can take her upstairs for a few minutes right?"

"I suppose the phone is up there? Very well, but do not let her stress herself." Warren warned.

"Come on kiddo." Lance lifted the little girl into his arms. "Let's go call your Mom."

Rogue smiled happily and nodded. As Lance started heading upstairs, four-year-old Remy was soon in step beside him. "Y' Lucky, M'rie." He said solemnly. "Y' can still talk t' yo' Mama."

"Yup." Marie frowned slightly. "Its sad yah can' talk ta yo's." The little boy shrugged one shoulder in reluctant acceptance of his reality. Suddenly she brightened. "Ya wanna talk ta mah Mama?"

"Remy no know." He shrugged shyly. "She's yo' Mama. She don' wanna talk ta Remy. B'sides, she prolly not like Remy acuza his eyes anyway. Not many Mamas let deir kids play wit' Remy cause Remy got debil eyes." He sounded sad and regretful.

"Well, ma Mama ain't like that. She'll like ya eyes." Marie informed him confidently.

"Okay then." Remy shrugged.

Lance was trying to think of any excuse to not do this, any possible way to get around this nightmare. He really didn't want to call Mystique, as that could only prove to make this whole mess worse. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that Forge could get this mess sorted out quickly. Having never have really been religious he wasn't sure if he had done it right but he figured it was the thought that counted anyhow.

When the small group reached the dining room, he removed Pietro's cell phone from his pocket with shaking hands after he set Rogue into a chair. She was humming to her self and looked very happy that she was going to get to talk to her mother.

Just as Lance had found the programmed numbers and was about to click enter, the Institute's regular phone began to ring...

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Ok its me. I know I know shame on me for taking absolutely forever and all that jazz. School, tech problems, and homework bite, viciously. I've been sneak writing this when I had five or ten mins of spare time which isn't terribly often. But now school's out for the summer (well as soon as I finish my finals anyway) and I will use the spare time I have for writing, I promise. I have so many ideas but I have to finish what I have going first. So up next is 24 hours, which btw will be ending first, and pretty soon. But after that I intend to do up a parody and since the people in my head (advised by the Swedish Ninja-like Monkeys and Avatar) told me to, I decided to let you guys pick what gets done first.

Here's what I'm considering.

Anastasia (Romy) (also note the version that made it to movie not the first copy)

Aladdin (Romy OR Johnda (or maybe one of each)),

The Little Mermaid (Romy, Johnda, Lancitty, Kurmanda, whatever)

Cinderella Story (Just about any pairing, open to suggestion)

All Dogs go to Heaven (first no pairing but sequel would be Johnda or Romy depending who gets cast as Charlie)

Peter Pan (no real pairing maybe flirting based on who gets what role)

Lady and the Tramp (so many uber cool ones...Romy, Jonda, Kietro, X-ietro, Lancitty, Bobby/Amara)

Hunchback of Notre Dame (Romy, Kurwanda, Johnda, Kiotr)

Hercules (Romy, X-ietro, Tabbietro, Bobby/Amara or Jubilee)

And that's about it. So ya let me know which sounds best in your review. Ok so now I better go get to work on the next chapter of 24 hours so byebye. Review!


	16. TALKIN ON THE TELEPHONE

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Wahoo, I bin puttin up chapters a lot faster than normal (see summer vacation isn't a waste of time) And Here's the most recent of BID!

howlerdrode- Well, Lance did promise. And who can resist a three year old's sad eyes? Well yeah I'd definitely say Forge better fix the problem soon enough. Thanks for reviewing.

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xmengirlzrule- Oh you didn't offend me, I was agreeing with you. Carmen was made to not be liked! Please don't be worried about upsetting me! On a happier note, I'm glad you liked the chapter so much. No Lorna isn't Bucketheads daughter, really. And I plan to reveal that soon. Thanks for reviewing!

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DemonicGambit-Woah, take it easy there, lol. No, I imagine that kinda news doesn't come to parents too often. Glad you like my work that much! Thanks for reviewing!

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Dis Chick Digs the Fuzzy Dude- LOL. Yep, Anastasia's currently in production and the moment 24 Hours' last chapter goes up, I'll put it up. And yes, I shall also be handling Aladdin, as well as a buncha others in the parody category. Hilary Duff isn't my fave either but I think I can make it better without her uber annoyingness. For All Dogs go to Heaven, Remy's currently cast as the drinking gambling and interested in females main character, Charlie, cause A) he fits the role, and B) Rogue perfectly fits the girl who inadvertently sweeps him off his feet in the sequel. Yeah I thot of Roberto when I heard the Sunspot thing, but I dunno bout him so well...in one of my stories hes among the problems tabby has and all. Thanks for all the suggestions. and Thanks for reviewing!

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SickmindedSucker-LOL So I've been told, thanks. That's the problem with lies, they eventually all break up as they pile higher. Really, we can't kill her in this story...its only rated k+ or something...however, after the story, if somebody HAPPENS to take her down a dark ally and she's never seen again...LOL No, believe it or not she may eventually be somewhat important to the story. But she will get what's due her, that I can promise. Aw, thanks for the vote of confidence :) Thanks. Glad you're happy, that's my goal as an authoress. And yes, I liked your chapter. You, like me, have to update more often. Thanks for reviewing!

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JediTwitch-Well, you see, there was this intergalactic war that pulled me away from Earth for a while and all, LOL. Nice ideas. Lady and the tramp is on the list, no worries. Oh and hope you did well on your finals. I did mildly tolerable. Blah. Thanks for reviewing!

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Sweety8587-Yea she's Carmen, and yea she's...one of those people who just push every button on your patience. Don't worry, I wouldn't throw lamps. Maybe crayons...no lamps though. LOL. You aski, you getti. I'll be doing Lady and the Tramp definitely. It'll be awesome. Yea, they're too adorable for their own good. And I just found out that there actually was a comic about the X-Babies. Man I'd do just bout anything to get my paws on that. Oh I recommend doing your idea, that sounds adorable! Thanks for reviewing!

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Mimato-4eva- Neat name. Digimon right? Great coupling I like them too. And welcome to my family of reviewy people! Glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing!

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silverbells-Yes, that does seem to be a common question, doesn't it? Uck, school drove me crazy but now I'm free, till August 31 anyway. Glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing!

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Realtfarraige-Glad you like this so much! Hey its ok, what counts is you reviewed now! I love the kidlets so much. Yes Carmen is nasty, but that's who she is. Well, there's an application process, and if the committee deems you worthy you may adopt a clone of one of the mini-mutants. LOL. There'll be a note about that at the end of the chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

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Dante Tigerwolf-Ok, now I'm not being rude, please don't be mad. But I think you should hear me out. Judging by the fact that your review came from chapter four, I really don't think you've read far enough to determine that the story does, in fact, have a lot to do with the title. I appreciate your advice, but I wish you would read a bit more of the story before judging so harshly.

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MagCat- Oh yeah in a big way. Lance is in trouble and he needs a lot of help. I think he has a responsibility complex. I plan on an Alex visit and what would be the point if I don't allow him and Lorna to be a couple and interact? LOL. I admit I've never done much with them but I want to so that's gotta count for something, right? And well, Pietro always was Daddy's little boy so he'd have to be able to keep in contact with him and his employees, wouldn't he? Maybe it only makes sense to me, but o well. Thanks for reviewing!

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Numbah 333 halfway to hell- Yay! Another Lancitty fan! We're becoming an endangered breed, you know. People are turning to Kiotr like no one's business. And even Kurtty may be making a comeback. Lord have mercy on my soul! Heavens no! Please don't worry. Yeah they're getting pretty close, but I assure you they're just friends. Lance's heart always will belong to Kitty. Thanks for the parody suggestion. You aski, you getti! Read on and thanks for reviewing!

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STIG- LOL. Yea babysitting has it's ups and downs. Personally, if it was me, I may be worried about strangling something if I was dealing with some of these situations. Yeah I know the translations get annoying, so I'm going to cut way back on them. Only will use them if its hard for even me to get, sound ok? I'm glad you like so much and I adore your description of Carmen. Thanks for reviewing!

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el diablo- Glad you like it. Your parody wish is my command! Thanks for reviewing!

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Lance Avalanche Alvers- Ok thanks for reviewing!

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The real Kitty Pryde-Very Very glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

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Black Cat of the Black Rose- Ok thanks for reviewing!

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Disclaimer-Laughs.

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said."

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Lance stared at the phone. It continued piercing the eerie quiet of the room. He picked it up hesitantly, hoping maybe it was Forge saying this nightmare was over.

"Hello?"

"Hello potential buyer, my name is Bob F. Blish, of Shiny Things Aluminum corporation, and I was just wondering whether you would consider your home protected by the siding you currently have."

Lance stared at the phone, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Excuse me?"

"Well sir, I'm selling Aluminum siding and your home deserves the protection only Shiny Things Aluminum Co. can provide."

"What the Hell!" Lance growled. "Look dude, I'm in the middle of a crisis here and I really don't want to put up with this..."He took a calming breath trying not to explode as the two toddlers watched carefully. "Look, I ain't interested, alright?"

"Oh but sir, think about the future of your home!"

As Lance's face grew slightly redder, Marie giggled. "Uh oh, someone's gonna git in trouble!" She cooed in a singsong voice.

"Oh, is that a child I hear? Well sir, our company also makes swing sets children love."

"Don't call here again." Lance growled shortly before slamming the phone onto the cradle.

Marie laughed appreciatively. Lance scowled at the phone. "Damn telemarketers..."

Both small children started up. "Ooooo! You sayed a bad word!"

Lance rubbed his temples. "Ok Ok, sorry, sorry." He sighed. "Now lets call your mom, how does that sound Marie?"

"Kay!" The little girl grinned happily.

Lance steeled his nerve and dialed the cell phone. It rang several times before a mechanical sounding answering machine picked up.

"Hello, you have reached Raven Darkeholme. If you are calling regarding a personal matter, please hit 'one' now. If your call is business related, hit 'two' now. If your call regards a student at Bayville High School, dial 'three now'. If your call is about the boarding house dial 'four' now. And if your call is a family detail, please dial 'five' immediately."

Lance pondered and then hesitantly hit the five.

"Family of Raven Darkholme, please leave a message including your name and the reason you called, after the tone. Thank you. Have a nice day. BEEP"

"Uh hi, Mystique...it's Lance. I'm uh calling about...your daughter...She-"

"Avalanche! What happened?" He was shocked to hear Mystique's tone drenched with concern. "What about Rogue, is she alright?"

"Well..." Lance paused. "Uh...depends on how you define 'alright'." He started nervously. "There was this accident and the guy-"

"Oh God, She's not pregnant is she!" Mystique's voice was filled with horror. "Oh, I'll just kill him! Who is it! Is it that Cajun asshole who used to work for Magneto!"

"What! No! Nothing like that, thank God. I don't know if you who Forge is but he-"

"Oh, I know him alright." Mystique's voice held an odd tone of remembrance and fondness. "What'd he do this time?"

"Well he made this dumb time machine and she was one of the test subjects and now...well she's...a three-year-old now..." He cringed and waited for his former boss to explode.

"Let me get this straight..." Mystique's voice sounded like it was forced calm. "My eighteen year old daughter, my beautiful Rogue, has somehow been deaged by fifteen years. Before this happened, she was a legal adult, and now she's barely old enough to play with Legos?"

"Um, yeah?" Lance gulped. "Look, I know you're probably pissed off but we're taking care of her and stuff, and um, Forge is working to fix it as we speak."

"Was Rogue the only one this happened to?" Mystique demanded.

"No...actually eleven other kids too."

"What about my son? Is he at least, safe and sound and properly aged?"

"No he's a toddler now too." Lance's instincts told him to go hide because she was sounding very upset.

"You fool! How could you allow this to happen! Damn you, Damn you to Hell!" Mystique screeched at him. "I thought they were safe at Xavier's! How did this happen! And why was Charles too cowardly to call me himself!"

Lance gulped. "Look Mystique, it isn't the professor's fault...and besides, your daughter is here and she wants to talk to her mom."

"Oh?" Mystique's tone cheered up right away. "Give her the phone then Avalanche, quickly now!"

"Right away." He turned to Marie. "Here's your mom, Marie." He quickly handed her the cell phone.

"Mama!" Marie squealed into the receiver.

"Hello baby angel!" Mystique gushed. "How's my girl?"

"Ah'm good now Mama. Ah miss ya."

"Oh, I miss you too baby. Are you being good for Lance and the other nice people?"

"Uh huh." Marie smiled happily. "Ah made lotsa new friends. Ya gotsa meet 'em!" She grinned then frowned slightly. "When ya gon' come bring me home, Mama?"

"Momma's very busy right now, sweetheart. I don't know when really."

"Oh." Marie frowned.

"How would you like me to visit you soon, baby?" Mystique cooed. "Mama can bring you a nice present, wouldn't that be nice?"

"Ah like that idea. When, mama, when!" She cried happily.

"How about tomorrow morning, baby, does that sound good?"

"Kay!" She laughed. "Mama, talk ta ma fend Remy, please? He don' gots a Mama an' he thinks ya won' like him cuza his eyes."

Mystique groaned slightly. But then her tone was happy again. "Alright baby girl, give him the phone."

"Kay." Rogue handed the phone purposefully over to her friend. "Mama wants ta talk ta ya."

"Bonjou' Madame Marie's Mama." Remy said uncertainly, having never really used a phone yet before.

"Hello young man, I hear you're friends with my sweet Marie?"

"Yea she's neat." He said somewhat shyly. "She be mo' fun den Spot, he be Remy's pet gator who be livin' in Remy's backya'd."

"Oh is she?" Mystique laughed. "Well you just take care of her, alright. It makes me happy that such a nice boy is around to protect her."

"Y' can count on Remy." He smiled proudly. "Not'in'll happen t' her. She be Remy's bestest frind in de worl'."

"Aw, how adorable." Mystique cooed soothingly. "Now can you give the phone back to Marie, sweet heart? I want to say byebye to her."

"Uh huh." Remy smiled.

"Oh and Remy," Mystique said in an odd tone of voice. "Just because your eyes are different, doesn't make them bad. Bye now."

Remy beamed and handed the phone back to Marie.

"Mama?"

"Mama just wanted to say goodbye to her sweet angel." Mystique said happily. "And I'll see you later, alright baby?"

"Okay. Bye bye Mama."

"Bye Bye Marie." Mystique gushed. "Can you give the phone to Lance now sweetheart?"

"Yah. Bye bye." She pushed Pietro's phone into Lance's hand.

"Avalanche?" Mystique's voice was soft and seemed gentle to him.

"Yeah?"

"Take care of her. I may have been a horrible mother to Rogue, but Marie doesn't remember that. If one hair on her head gets harmed, its your funeral, got it?"

"Yeah sure." Lance nodded.

"I mean it Alvers. Take care of my sweet baby angel." There was a tone in Mystique's voice he'd never heard her use before. "And her brother too. Please?"

Before Lance could answer she hung up, leaving Lance to stare in confusion at the cell phone.

"Mama's gonna come visit t'morrow." Marie informed him. "An' she's gunna bring a present."

Lance gulped at the prospect and didn't look highly forward to telling the others that Mystique was coming.

"Alright, lets get you guys back down to Doctor Worthington." He scooped Rogue up into his arms and took Remy's hand. He led them to the elevator and very soon they were in the infirmary.

"What'd her mom say?" Wanda asked as Lance entered. 

"She's coming to visit tomorrow." Lance sighed flatly.

Wanda's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

"An' she's gunna bring me a present!" Rogue smiled and reminded her.

"Aw that's great Marie." Wanda smiled. The little girl reached out her arms to Wanda so the girl took her carefully from Lance. "How are you feeling."

"Really good." Marie nodded, grinning. "Where all the others?"

"They went down stairs to watch a movie and play with Pietro." Wanda laughed.

"What movie?"

"I think they're watching Pokemon." Wanda smiled.

"What's pok'man?" Remy tilted his head to the side curiously.

Wanda blinked. She had nearly forgotten that they had no knowledge of the previous fifteen years.

"Well, it's about a boy who has to catch a lot of little monsters, I guess."

"Kay, lets go watch it." He headed over to the door and Marie made a motion to follow. But the doctor tutted and gestured for her to lay back down.

"But...Ah wanna go with ma fends." She mumbled sadly.

"I'm sorry Marie, we can't risk that something could happen to you after the incident at the swimming pool."

She pouted and looked very sad. "Alright." She sighed. "Remy, you go watch it an' tell me bout it later."

Remy froze as Lance was leading him to the door. "No. Remy no wan' go widoucha, M'rie." He turned around and walked back into the room. "Wouldn' be fair fo' y'."

He climbed up to sit beside her. Wanda smiled despite herself. Lance looked pretty amused to. "You know, I bet we could put a little TV in here for them to watch something."

"That could work." Wanda nodded. "I can stay up here with them. You go relax, you look way too tense."

"Yeah, Marie's mother does that to ya." He rubbed his temples. I'll bring in the portable TV and a few movies for them."

Wanda nodded and sat down beside Rogue's bedside. In a few moments Marie and Remy were chatting animatedly about what the present Marie's mother would bring.

"It'd be cool if it was cookies. Mama makes good cookies."

"Yeah that'd be really cool. Tantie Mattie makes cookies sometimes. But Henri usually eats em all afore I can get down de stairs."

"Tha's why Ah'm glad Ah ain' got a big brudder. Everone elses is mean."

"Henri's nice sometimes, but he be bigger den Remy an' he don' gots weird eyes. But he get Remy ice cream afore dinner sometimes. An' he help Remy do big boy things like ride a trike et swim et go up de stairs o de slide wit'out fallin'."

"Ya ride a trike?"

"Oui." Remy said proudly. "An' got m'own helmer an' evert'in'. Once Remy even rided Henri's big red big boy bike. But Remy felled off an' Tantie Mattie yelleded at him so he won' let me do it 'gain." Remy shrugged. "But yo' liler den Remy so it be kay dat y' can' do a trike yet."

She snorted with laughter. "No it ain'. Cuz Ah ain' rided a trike fo' a long time. Ah gots a big girl bike with a bell an' a basket an' flecters."

Remy blinked in surprise. "No way. Y' kiddin' Remy."

"Nope." She shook her head. "Ah jus' getted outta train wheels a lil while 'go too."

"Y' can' be dat good." Remy frowned. "Not poss'ble."

"It is too!" Marie grinned. "Ah ride all the time, jus' ask ma Mama t'morrow." "Wow." He sighed with jealousy. "What's it look like?"

"Mama says mah bike is turkeys. I think that means it's somethin' that the colorers couldn' decide if it should be blue or green so they maked it bof." She shrugged. "It gots a lil bell an' a white basket on the handy bars. An' a flecter on the front an' back. Oh an a lindsey plate with ma name on it."

"Wow." Remy closed his eyes. "An' Remy t'ought his beau black trike was cool!"

At that moment Lance wheeled a TV cart into the room. A few movies were with it. "Hey guys. Here ya go. Enjoy."

Wanda smiled as he set it up. "What'd you bring?"

"Aladdin, Lady and the Tramp, Land Before time, the little vampire and Pokemon. That ought to keep them occupied for a while." He grinned. "And I figured you'd like 'em a bit too."

"Thanks. You go take care of yourself now, alright?"

"Yeah. Have fun."

Wanda inclined her head with a smile as he left. She popped Pokemon in and both kids watched intently.

She moved from her chair to the doctor's side. 

"Have you figured out what's wrong?" She asked softly.

"No not yet, Ms. The-World's-Out-to-Get Me Goth. But we'll be sure to tell you." Carmen snapped.

"Her vitals are relatively stable, giving that she is unconscious." The doctor said in a frustrated tone. "She's breathing, and her heart is working just fine. But there is no trace of her mind at all. Not a blip on the brainwave monitor. Obviously she's functioning on a biologic level only right now as something is definitely keeping her motor systems functioning."

"It's really weird." Lorna frowned. "I've never seen anything like this either."

Wanda sighed. "Is there anything you can do?"

"Without a powerful telepath, I'm afraid this is futile." The doctor's tone was pensive. "The best we can hope is that her persona does not try and take control over young Marie."

They all turned to the little girl who was raptly watching the cartoon. "She'll be at her most vulnerable when she sleeps." He said confidently yet sadly. "Hopefully Ms. Danvers will be willing to accommodate us."

"The bad things that happen if she falls asleep without her mother nearby..." Wanda murmured in sudden understanding.

"What was that?" Dr. Worthington asked quickly.

"Just something Marie told me that never made sense until just now." Wanda shrugged.

"Oh. Well, all we can do now is continue our efforts to revive Ms Danvers' mental and conscious persona." The Dr. sighed tersely. "Look, we need Xavier, or Jean, or something."

Wanda shook her head. "I don't know when everyone will get back."

"Very well." Dr. Worthington ran a hand through his hair. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. But I can see no other choice. She won't be very happy about being called but she'll understand, of course that this is an emergency. Yes, Lorna, could you get Betsy on the line?"

"Sure thing, sir." The young nurse whipped out a cell phone and began to dial before Wanda stopped her.

"Wait, who? What's going on?" Wanda asked curiously.

"My fiancée Elisabeth Braddock is a telepath. Not terribly the strongest out there I'm afraid, or at least she's got nothing on Xavier." Warren's tone held a new chime of affection in it. "She is currently in New York busily planning our wedding but I'm certain that she'd be more than happy to come and help us."

"Aw damn, your getting married!" Carmen cried. "Damn Damn Damn. I swear, ALL of the best guys are gay, jerks, or taken already."

Everyone present stared at her little outburst.

Meanwhile Lance had gotten down to the other kids. He dropped onto his bed and leaned against the wall closing his eyes.

"What wron'?" A tiny voice asked curiously.

Lance opened his eyes to see the toddler version of Kitty standing in front of him, her blue eyes wide.

"Hey pretty Kitty." He smiled.

She smiled softly. "You wook sad...You mad at me?" She tilted her head to the side and looked suddenly sad and worried.

Lance's heart melted. "I could never stay mad at you; you're my little angel, pretty Kitty-cat. I'm just tired. That's all."

The two year old beamed. "Lance need nap?"

Lance laughed. "Yeah. That would help."

Kitty nodded. "Lance want bedtime story?"

Lance shook his head smiling softly. "Sure."

Kitty skipped away and came back with a book. Lance was expecting something like Little Red Riding Hood or the Ugly Duckling or something. But instead, she came back happily bearing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone. He was clueless where she had found it but he knew he couldn't even try resisting her pretty blue eyes.

"Got book." The little girl held it up proudly.

He grinned and helped her up. She sat cross legged in front of him with the book open in her lap. Then she looked up sheepishly. "Lance, it gots no pictures...an' I no can read big words yet."

He chuckled and pulled her gently to sit next to him. "How about I read it to you, okay?"

"Kay." She smiled softly and opened the book for him.

"Chapter one: The boy who lived. Mr. and Mrs. Dursely, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense..." Lance continued reading for some time. A little while later, Pietro was going to ask Lance what they'd do for dinner until he found his friend leaning peacefully against the wall with the tiny toddler Kitty snuggled up to him with her thumb in her mouth and her head leaning against his body, sleeping soundly. Lance had a gentle but secure arm around her and he was loosely holding the Harry Potter book in his hand. First Pietro snapped a picture and then he decided it was too sweet to disrupt. So he left them alone and put another movie on for the kids.

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And that's that. So what do you think? I know this is a shorter chapter than normal but I happen to like it just fine. And yeah all of you who think Lance is in trouble now...how will things be when a British telepathic fiancée, a mom, and siblings get into the picture. Forge better hurry up, eh? Speakin of the devil, he's been hard at work and thanks to numerous requests, we now have mini-mutants available for YOU to love and cherish. Of course they won't be the originals, as they kinda need to be in the story. But they are genuine hybrid clones of them. They are relatively low maintenance, no diapers or midnight bottle feedings required. As long as you pay them affection and attention, they're needs are met. Of course, if you want the complete baby package diaper and feeding duty can be required. All you need to do is send in your name (penname or otherwise), your choice of the mini-mutants from the list below and your preferred package in your cough coughreviewcough cough. Excuse me, I must be coming down with a cold.

MINI-MUTANT CLONE OPTIONS

St. John Allerdyce

--Pyro, DOB August 12, age 2

--Special Care keep away from flammables

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Amara Aquilla

--Magma, DOB June 26, age 1

--Special Care cannot walk yet, rather fussy

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Marie-Anna Darkeholme

--Rogue, DOB December 25, age 3

--Special Care absorbing powers, temperamental, tomboy, fussy eater, afraid, recommended to also request Remy LeBeau

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Bobby Drake

--Ice Man, DOB January 3, age 2

--Special Care ice powers, troublemaker

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Freddy Dukes

--Blob, DOB March 8, age 2

--Special Care requires frequent feeding or crabbiness will ensue

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Jean Grey

--DOB September 1, age 3

--Special Care telepathy power, a bit spoiled, recommended to request Scott Summers

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Remy LeBeau

--Gambit, DOB October 31, age 4

--Special Care red and black eyes, kinetic charging power, prefers spicy food, keep away from alligators, recommended to also request Marie Darkeholme

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Kitty Pryde

--Shadowcat, DOB September 6, age 2

--Special care likes pastel things

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Tabitha Smith

--Boom Boom/splody girl, DOB August 11, age 2

--Special care bomb balls, trouble maker, doesn't do well with loneliness

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Scott Summers

--Cyclops, DOB November 24, age 4

--Special Care optic blasts, must wear special ruby lens glasses, preachy

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Todd Tolansky

--Toad, DOB February 23, age 1

--Special Care slime coated, can't walk, shy, teething

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Kurt Wagner

--Nightcrawler, DOB May 27, age 2

--Special Care blue and fuzzy, teleporter, troublemaker, climber

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PACKAGES

--as is

(many combinations of the following available)

--given age A(with power)

--given age B(w/out power)

--custom (specified age and w/ or w/out power)

--affection satisfied (low maintenance)

--dependent (requires baby stuffs)

--complete set (all 12 mini-mutants)

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Ok so submit your forms (no limit to number as long as you can take care of them and pay affection) in with your cough cough review cough cough Well, I'm going to go and get a cough drop then bye. winks


	17. THE PARLOR MAGICIAN AND THE PICNIC ANTS

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Hello! Wow the mini-mutants went faster than iced tea in the desert! Had I known there was such interest in the little darlings I'd have done that sooner. Though surprisingly (or not surprisingly I suppose) the most popular ones were the most troublemaking. I find that oddly hilarious for some unknown reason. Ok so total you guys picked up (4) Pyro clones, (8) Rogue clones, (4) Icebaby clones, (3) Splody Girl clones, (7) Gambit clones, (3) Shadow Kitten clones, (4) Nightcrawler clones, (1) Magma clones, Aw no Toad, Blob, Cyke, or Jeannie clones o well. So now for the distribution of the lil bundles of trouble and joy.

Dis Chick Digs Da Fuzzy Dude- Yeah I love them too and I decided to share the love with all of you, my lovely friends. LOL thanks for the cough drop thing. And I presume you mean Hearts' Desires? Well, I'm not going to say he is or isn't but he's definately at least a source of stress for her there. To find out who it really is, I guess you'll just have to wait until that little nasty secret comes out. Yes telemarketers are obnoxious. Before the beautiful creation called caller Id I'd pick up the phone and hang up. Once I think I picked up, heard where they were from and screamed in their ear...but that might have been a dream. Glad you like it. The Kitty/Lance scene had me cooing and giggling for an hour. But it's ok. My family already knows I'm nuts. Ok, wow, the trouble makers hm? Have fun. (hands over each toddler). Take care and thanks for the review!

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el diablo- Thanks. And yes I wager that Mystique's little visit will be very interesting, if I do say so myself. Nice choices. Have fun and give them lots of attention, but you may want to keep this bunch away from sugar. LOL. (hands over toddlers) Thanks for reviewing!

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Lance Avalanche Alvers- laughs nervously and hides bag of sugar Um...ok. Thanks for the review!

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Realtfarraige- Yeah, he's probably on the verge of one. I bet it was just the icing on the cake for him. Ya, but its their job to annoy civilians so I guess we'll hafta live with it. Ya Mystique was nearly bursting with maternaly-ness. But it's deliberate as will be revealed in the chapters to come. Yep that was my little reference to the Mystique/Forge relationship. I may do more with that one, or maybe not, still thinking on it. Yeah he should probably mention that, but if he did right now, all he'd get is a very wide eyed blank stare and a talk about the birds and the bees. And I daresay he has enough to deal with. Yup Mystique's weird like that. Yup Carmen's luck doesn't seem to be very good lately is it? Yes they are. I figured that they were started earlier, though I couldn't resist having Rogue be better. I loved the Lance and Kitty scene too. It just seemed like something they'd do. Nice choices on the mini-mutants, they may act up but they're darlings, really. (hands over toddlers) Have fun, take care, and Thanks for the review! (which I got twice by the way)

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JediTwitch-I know. I figured I'd let everyone think that and then add the telemarketer for comic relief. Yeah, Mystique did take it awfully calmly didn't she? Hmm...Glad you liked the Lance and Kitty scene. It made me skwee! Um about the cliff hanger...um...thanks for reviewing?

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Sweety8587-LOL lifesize may be better. But the four-year-old is more fuzzly and huggly. But sure, adult Remy is a perfect companion for Marie. Just hope he doesn't mind babysitting. Glad you like it so much. I love writing it. They are? WOW! I honestly only discovered the comic the X-babies about a month ago and I was amazed. I severely 3 them! Drop me a line if you hear anything else. Thanks for the review!

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xmengirlzrule- No worries. And awww thanks, that means a lot to hear. Yep I plan on the Mystique incident being pretty funny. Since it's summer, I'm trying to update a lot so look for my next updates soon. LOL and a challenge you'll have, as you picked the most rambunctious bunch. But they all are huggable and loveable too so you're in for a special treat. Have fun with 'em and take care. (hands over each toddler). Thanks for the review!

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MagCat- LOL Yeah I had to bring in Betsy. I love her too much not to. And yes, I personally agree with the Carmen thing. It shall happen, keep it in mind. Glad you liked it, the kids will get home eventually. Hey didn't I review that? I could have sworn I did...I'll hafta check it out again. Thanks for the review!

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Numbuh 333 half way 2 hell- Ok, Kitty you wanted and Kitty you shall get. I love Lancitty. I'll hafta check out your stuff then won't I? It would be nice to convert some of the non-believers wouldn't it? Thanks for the review.

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silverbells-Ok sounds good. Here ya go. (hands over southern toddlers) Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

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Dis Chick Digs Da Fuzzy Dude-LOL yes I figured what you meant. And as I'm honestly not sure yet, I can't honestly tell you. But don't hurt him! If it is him someone needs to pay child support! And the next HD chapter will go up after 24 hours so keep a constant watch and thanks for the review!

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STIG-LOL Yes he is, and maybe she can. It would be nice if something went the right way for once eh? Thanks for reviewing!

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howlerdrode-Glad you like the chapter, and yep that's what Betsy's coming for. Yes, I would say that he is. Yeah he SHOULD be, but he's got a short attention span. So he decided to help replicate the mini-mutants. Well nobody wanted Scottie or Jeannie so no worries. And as much as I wish I could say I wrote for X-babies, alas I didn't even know it existed until I discovered it about a month ago. It made me happy and it's on my birthday list. Thanks for the review!

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Mai24-Good choices. Sorry the chapters are shorter, but I think they tend to be better when I'm not cramming about 2 or 3 chapters together. I kinda like the flow a little better this way. Yay! I think your the first person who noticed, or at least the first person to comment on that. She is capable of a second chance and between you and me, she's a darned good actress. Mystique is kinda a living embodiment of a skitzo. LOL yes Remy is so huggly. Meep (hides) I'm writing I'm writing! Thanks for the review!

**Shira's Song-** Yeah that's what I was going for. Nope it can't be, but hopefully that particular scenario can be avoided. The present will be cool, if I may say so myself. Yes, but Lance is trying to stay out of trouble and Warren bought Lance's story so they're clear for now, but that protection will be gone with a telepath in the mansion. I'm glad you like this so much. Thanks for the review!

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The real Kitty Pryde- (sighs) Regretfully I have to tell you it isn't on TV anymore. I cried when they took it away. But at least I have the eps on dvd so I can take mild comfort in watching reruns...Sorry that it isn't on anymore.

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Ivy-Ok, great choices. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

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black cat of the black rose-Ok thanks for the review.

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disclaimer- (stares at monitor in disbelief before breaking into tears. Avatar tries futilely to comfort) I can't take this! My beef jerky tastes like shoe leather, my tea cup has a hole in it, my pink sock is missing and I own nothing! Nothing! Unless the cyst in my ear and the black and red sharpies I use to color guys' eyes black and red in pictures count...

" The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense."

-- Tom Clancy

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Pietro was grudgingly cooking dinner, as his sister was upstairs watching over the sweet little southern toddlers, and Lance was still sleeping. Piotr wasn't too much of a cook and the others were busy with keeping the kids busy and quiet.

He scowled into the pot of macaroni and cheese. This mess was inflicting severe damage on his social life and he didn't feel it was fair. He hadn't planned on spending any Saturday night ever, home babysitting.

Yet here he was chopping hotdogs to tiny bits that couldn't be choked on and adding them to the macaroni and cheese on the stove. He chucked some cauliflower and carrots into another pot and set them to boil. All that was missing, he thought bitterly, was a frilly pink apron.

He looked warily around the kitchen. It was still clean and he rather preferred it that way to how it looked after the twelve mini-mutants ate in it. He wasn't very fond of the idea of scraping macaroni off the walls and ceiling, but what could he do?

Then suddenly what seemed like a brilliant idea dawned on him. It was a beautiful summer evening, with a pleasantly warm temperature and clear sky. Why not eat outside, like a picnic. That way all the mess would be outside for nature to clean up. He took a liking to his idea but decided he'd better run it by a couple of the others first. He turned the stove low and zipped down stairs to find Lance stirring from his catnap.

"Hey Pietro, how long was I out?" He asked as he sat up, yawning.

"Bout-three-hours, listen-I-was-thinking-what-if-we-ate-outside-tonight? Less-mess-to-deal-with."

Lance nodded in approval. "Sounds good to me." He glanced down at Kitty who was still curled against him, thumb in mouth, fast asleep. "Isn't she just so precious?"

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. So-I'm-gonna-go-and-get-dinner-finished-and-then-I'll-set-the-play-pens-up-outside."

"What?" Lance asked confused.

"Well-this-is-a-huge-estate-and-you-can't-expect-to-keep-the-kids-under-control-with-out-them." Pietro rolled his eyes.

"No, I meant you said something about finishing dinner." Lance frowned. "You didn't leave the stove on did you?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Its-on-low." Pietro rolled his eyes. Before Lance could explode he dashed off.

Lance shook his head and glanced back at Kitty. "What'll I do with him, huh?" He didn't expect an answer, but he did take comfort in the fact that she kept breathing just as peacefully. He dog-eared the page in the book and then gently maneuvered Kitty away from his side. She stirred slightly and he gently lay her down on his pillow.

She blinked and opened her eyes. "Mornin'" She smiled.

"It's night time sleepy head." He laughed and tickled her nose. "Almost time for dinner."

"O." She sat up. "What we eat?"

"I don't know, pretty Kitty." He shrugged. "Pietro made dinner. But we're all going to go outside like a picnic."

"Picnic!" She squealed and clapped her hands. "Yay!"

"Sounds good?" He chuckled and she nodded happily. "Well you help me get all your friends upstairs and we'll get to have the picnic that much faster."

"Yay!" She grinned and climbed off the bed, running as fast as she could to all the other kids. "Hey guys! Wanna pinic?" She called out.

"Picnic?" Jean asked, delighted. "With food an' a blankie an' watty melman an' everythin' like that?"

"And ants?" Tabby's eyes lit up.

"Prolly." Kitty nodded.

"Ewww ants?" Jean cried.

"Can't have pinic widout ants!" Pyro cheered. "Yay!"

Lance supressed a laugh at the look on Jean's face as all the kids toddled or crawled over to him and Kitty.

"Go, Go, Go!" Kurt cried out joyously. "Ants!"

Lance shook his head in amusement and led the trail of children upstairs. He scooped up Toad and Amara in each arm and watched as the other kids crawled up the stairs slowly. They were in the rec-room when he realized that two of the kids might want to join them. He passed the two littlest mutants to Colossus and Amanda and doubled back to the infirmary.

He entered and found Marie and Remy leaning against each other and breathlessly watching the ending to The Lady and the Tramp. Wanda was playing cards with Lorna, Dr. Worthington was clacking away at the computer console and Carmen sat idly on an empty bed scowling at Wanda in dislike.

"Hey you guys." He crouched down beside Marie's bed. "How's it going?"

"SHHH!" Remy turned and scolded. "Tramp jus' getted taked by the doggie pound! We gott' see if he get out!"

Lance rolled his eyes and let the kids watch the end of the movie. "Any new development?" He asked Dr. Worthington tentatively.

"Not really anything verifiable." He was answered curtly. "For a moment there was a blip in Ms. Danvers' brainwaves but nothing since." He sighed. "So far Marie is looking quite normal, well as normal as one can be in the given circumstances. And Elizabeth should arrive first thing in the morning. She says she would have come sooner but her brother is visiting from London and leaves tonight. She's having dinner out with him and everything. I didn't want to disrupt twin time. I wager you don't know how twins get when separated but neither of them are very happy."

Lance chuckled. "Yes, actually I do know." He glanced significantly over at Wanda who grinned. "Two of my best friends are twins. And while I'm sure neither of them would admit it, they can't stand being apart too long. If for nothing else but to annoy the Hell out of each other."

Wanda laughed appreciatively in acknowledgement of the truth.

Dr. Worthington nodded. "Yes, well its been a long while since Betsy was able to see Brian so I'm sure you understand. The situation isn't critical at the moment, as their stats are stable with the exceptions of Ms. Danvers' absence of thought pattern which, medically I cannot understand. And Marie s condition is unpredictable given the nature of her age and powers."

"So she's going to be okay?" Lance asked hopefully.

"I can't tell at this point. It is very frustrating as a doctor, I can assure you." The doctor frowned.

"Well, the reason I came up was the rest of us are having a picnic outside and I wanted to know if I could take these two with me?" He gestured to Remy and Rogue who were watching the end of their movie intently.

"The boy is not even under observation. For a four-year-old, his broken arm is not even inhibiting him as much as one would suspect. Lorna, you obviously did quite a job setting his cast. Did you use waterproof dressing?"

Lorna looked up, caught by surprise. She blushed, pleased with his praise. "Yes, sir, Warren. I figured it would be better that way. And...I think he's right handed so his left being injured isn't so debilitating."

"Good girl." He nodded. "So Lance, your free to take him. And as for Marie, well I have no medical reason to keep her cooped up in here. Though if she has another episode, waste no time in getting her back into that bed immediately." He turned back to the monitors. "Lorna, you may go as well. I realize that you're off duty in about twenty minutes. Thank you for your help."

"Oh it's no problem." Lorna smiled. "Even if I was off hours ago I couldn't just ignore the situation, sir."

With that she smiled at the two toddlers.

"You like kids do you?" Carmen asked from her perch.

"Why not?" Lorna grinned. "They're the hope of the future. And they depend on us for so much."

"Pity." Carmen sneered.

"I beg your pardon?" Lorna's smile slid from her face and was replaced with a look of mild confusion.

"There's way too many bleeding hearts like you in the world." Carmen scowled. "People who care more about the welfare of brats than themselves. You're one of those pathetic saps who'd donate an entire paycheck to those poor starving waifs in Africa aren't you?" Her voice held a tone of disgust and mock.

"So?" Lorna asked quietly. She believed in helping the needy. Was that so wrong?

"They're just playing you, you know that right? They don't give that money to any orphans. They keep it themselves. Naive idiots like you are just lining the pockets of con-artists." Carmen spat smugly.

Lorna stared at the other girl.

"You know what, Rodriguez, I think I've had just about enough of you and your trash!" Wanda growled and her clenched fists glowed blue. Various lethal looking medical supplies began rattling and levitating but Carmen showed no sign of fear.

"Oh, you wanna play witch?" She smirked. "Bring it on. I can take you. With or without powers."

Wanda's eyes narrowed. A bunch of needles levitated up and did a weird little circle dance around Carmen's head.

"A telekine huh? Come on, you gotta have something better than that witch. I've seen better at magic shows." Carmen taunted. "Wow scary. Shakin' in my stiletto's over here."

Wanda smirked. "What's the probability that say, your hair could light on fire about now?"

"Wanda, No!" Lance ordered trying to get between the two girls. "This is not the time or place and she's not worth it!" He warned.

Carmen gently pushed him aside. "You should listen to your little boyfriend, witch. He, at least, seems to understand what he's talking about."

"He is not my boyfriend!" Wanda scowled. "And he's gonna stay out of this." She warned. "And I'd say the probability of your hair spontaneously combusting just rose to about 100 percent."

"Oh what, you got some trick mirrors and flash powder up your sleeves? Hmm?" Carmen snickered. "Are you a mutant or a parlor magician? Come on witch, show me what you've got."

"First, it's Scarlet Witch to the likes of you." Wanda smirked calmly. "And second, I don't do magic tricks. Cheep illusions? Check with Mastermind. Card tricks, go find Gambit. Mind Reading, not for me, but Xavier could help you. Me? I specialize in one thing only. Allow me to introduce you to chaos magic." With a wink the bottom of Carmen's long hair caught fire.

For a long moment she stared at the flame spreading slowly up her hair. Then she shreiked, a horrible bloodcurdling cry. The sprinkler system reacted a split second later, isolated the flame and poured freezing cold water upon it until it was extinguished.

She stood there, drenched and scowling. "I hate all of you." She snapped. "I'm out of here. When Carol wakes up tell her I went home!"

With a red blur she sped out of the room. Lorna and Warren stared at Wanda, in horrified awe and shock. Lance merely groaned.

Wanda shrugged defensively. "Hey don't look at me, I didn't kill her or something. Though, I can't honestly say it wouldn't be doing the world a favor." She scowled.

Lance bit back a laugh. "Come on, Wanda, let's go down and eat. Maybe the fresh air will calm you down."

Wanda scowled. "What, I don't hafta listen to you. You're not my boyfriend, or my master."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Just go. Pietro cooked."

"Oh in that case, I must go pick on his lack of cooking ability." She headed down to the grounds.

Lance turned to Lorna. "You can come too if you'd like." He offered politely. She smiled hesitantly.

"That sounds fun."

He nodded and looked at the two toddlers. "Hey you two want to come eat out at a picnic?"

"Ok." Remy nodded. The credits for the movie were rolling and apparently had already thrown his interest. He climbed nimbly down from Marie's bed but she stayed in place looking crestfallen. "C'mon M'rie. We gonn' have a picnic." The boy called enthusiastically.

"Ah can' go." Marie frowned. "The docta sayed I gotsa stay here."

"No, its alright Marie, sweetheart. Doctor Worthington said we can take you down." Lance smiled.

"Really?" Her eyes widened in hope.

"Really really." Lance nodded.

"Yay!" She clapped her hands and stood up to climb down.

Lance reached for her to pick her up but was stopped short by a sharp glare. "Ah can walk ya know."

"Alright." Lance threw up his arms. "Lets go."

The two toddlers led the way downstairs skipping happily.

Lorna fell into step beside Lance. "Gee, is Wanda always like that?" She whispered, almost afraid the girl would hear her.

Lance laughed. "No not really. She's a lot better with her temper than she used to be. But when she gets set off, well you don't wanna get on her bad side."

Lorna's eyes were wide. "I'll keep that in mind."

"She's really not like that all the time." Lance assured her. "There's just something about that Carmen girl that brings out the worst of her."

Lorna shrugged. "It's understandable, I guess. She isn't exactly nice to anyone, is she?"

Lance shrugged. They reached the front door and saw the two southern toddlers staring wide eyed out it, and Wanda beside them, gaping with her jaw dropped and a look of utmost horror splashed across her face. She was clutching the door frame as if she didn't trust her own ability to support her weight.

"Wanda what's-?" Lance moved quickly towards her, afraid she'd collapse or something. He trailed off when he realized exactly what had stunned her.

It appeared that Pietro and Carmen had collided, while both in super-speed. She was practically draped across his lap and he was staring at her like a thirteen-year-old boy who'd lived with monks all his life and had never before seen a girl.

Lance was stunned to recognize the star-struck googly eyed look as the one the normal aged Toad always held for Wanda. It was unnerving really, to see the normally cool and confident Quicksilver, practically drooling over a girl. Wanda groaned softly at Lance's side and sank to the floor, still in shock.

"I'm gonna need therapy."

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Ok I know I know, the cliff hangers are bad and all that Jazz. And I know there's a lot of latent Carmen hostility. Which is why I have some very exciting news for all of you. First, in the story that I am co-writing with howlerdrode, End of the World, Carmen dies. And its a gruesome death. It happens in the next chapter to go up (chapter 11) so if you want her to die a bitter and evil death I'd personally recommend taking a peek over to howlerdrode's account. And on a similar note, I have noticed a lot of people want her dead. I'm getting a lot of violent vibes, which is oddly a good thing, as I want her dead too. So now I hereby grant the right to comically kill Carmen to the first reviewer to request the privilege. Just ask and you shall receive. Only catch is you have to let me know when it goes up. Ok and since I see that this will be a coveted prize, I may grant others the express right via e-mail only. But the supreme right is for the first reviewer, so the race begins in 3...2...1...REVIEW!

7-23-05


	18. ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE WAR AND WATERGUNS

**Wow, let me tell you, this idea of adopting out mini-mutants was pretty effective. In addition to last chapter's adoptions, there were 17 newly adopted mini-mutants. Woot! Give yourselves a pat on the back. And now everyone give a standing ovation for the brave soul JediTwitch who must be a saint or something because he requested a complete set! That's a dozen little bundles of cuddles and trouble all in one household. Lets all wish our dear jedi good luck and God Speed, eh?**

**Roguyroo-** I have updated! Enjoy! Thanks for the review!

**JediTwitch-** Congratulations! You are now the proud care taker of 12 mini-mutants. Woo hope ya got yaself one heck of a job...And a nice fenced in yard. Oh yeah. Carmen bumping into any guy is eeksie. Pietro, well ya that's gonna cause a little bit of friction won't it? Looks like you win first rights to 86 what seems to be the world's most unpopular OC. Congrats on that too. Take care and thanks for the review!

**Lance Avalanche Alvers- **LOL Both are great ideas. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**Sweety8587-** Yeah child caretaking usually makes me run for the nearest cabinet under the nearest sink to hide in. But the mini-mutants are alright. Nah I don't think he'd mind. Rems strikes me as the kinda guy who secretly loves little kids, even if they do scare him a wee bit. If the X-babies do come in could ya tell me the issue? I'd love that. LOL, yeah, I guess I'm gonna tap into Xavier's Swiss bank account and end up payin' for group therapy...hehe. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**xmengirlzrule-** Agreed, I may just end up needin therapy myself...Nope Mystique is coming in definitely next chapter or the one right after it, I promise. Remember gotta get through the evening before its morning. Thanks for the review!

**wandathetiger-** Thanks for adopting! (hands over mini-mutants) Have oodles of fun! They're all looking forward to their new home. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**MidniteAngelGoth-** Yeah sorry bout those, they just kinda creep up on me. This one isn't so bad though is it? Lol glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**luthien-rogue-** LOL yeah guess that should be on the agenda eventually. She doesn't seem so popular does she? Though may I suggest if you want, checking out howlerdrode's story End of the World? Carmen dies a gruesome death in that story. Woah Woah Woah! Back up! What's that about Remy sleeping with...Mystique! Can ya fill me in on that? I'm so clueless as my parents havn't gotten me a subscription...I really hope he isn't that much of an idiot! YAY! Gold star (does happy dance) Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoy the story. Thanks for the star and the review!

**howlerdrode-** Yeah, who saw that coming? Oh yeah he's in for an emotional roller coaster...Nah actually he's a relatively fussy eater so I figure he'd hafta be a decent cook. The others will eventually get here, no worries, unless you don't like ants...Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**MagCat-**Well I must say I cannot wait to see how you enact your plan! Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**Dis Chick Digs Da Fuzzy Dude-** Aren't they such darlings? Yeah, I've noticed Johnny-boy tends to be balanced by Bobby. LOL Not too many people seem to have faith in Pie's culinary ability huh? Well lets just say it can't be any worse than Kit's cooking. Yeah, I'm seriously thinking Carmen wins first in 'most hated OC'. Oh she shall die, eventually. And if you wanna check a story where she does go to howlerdrode's End of the World. I'm cowriting it with him and I coordinated the Carmen death specially for all BID Carmen haters. Check it out, (She dies in ch. 12 but the rest helps clue ya in as ta how). As for the HD baby daddy drama, all shall be revealed in good time. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**RomyRocker961- **Well howdy! Welcome aboard, I hope you enjoy this story. I'm glad you like what you've seen so far, thanks for the (plural) reviews!

**Realtfarraige- **Lol you're quite welcome, glad you're enjoying them. Yeah Pyro does seem that type huh? LoL yeah, I don't think Wanda'd be too happy to let Pietro get involved with Carmen either. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**epicmuse-** Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**SickmindedSucker-**LOL yes that does seem to be the general consensus, doesn't it? Odd how it sounds like Mystique cares, eh? As for Logan, well I'm debating whether the kids act like nothing happened when the 'dults get home or they come back and find a bunch of babies. Both could work quite well. Though you definitely provided me with an awesome mental picture! Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**black cat of the black rose-** Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**Masau-** LOL (or should that be LOQ (laugh out quietly?). I'm glad you like my story that much. Yeah, I've noticed librarians get a bit testy bout that kinda thing. So shhhhh, glad you like it and find it that funny, thanks for the review!

**Geeky Annie-** Glad you like it so much, thanks for reviewing!

**epicmuse (again and again and again)-** LOL glad ya like it, thanks for the multiple reviews!

**silverbells-** Glad you're enjoying the toddlers. I liked that scene too. Yeah, I've been trying to fill in the plot cavities I accidently left. Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**Q T Pie-** Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**saz-**Thank you. Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**el diablo- **LoL yeah, something must be done about Carmen eh? Glad you like it so much, thanks for reviewing!

**Rogueyroo- **Yeah that would be weird wouldn't it? Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**ceilidh-** Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**Ebon's Girl-** Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**SapphireSnake-** Uh hehe caught me, but I did fill that plot hole in a wee bit later...And here ya go (hands over a mini-Kurt) thanks for adopting; enjoy and take care! Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**Pointyearzrule- **Thank you! I hope this chapter was funny, and I can definitely promise lotsa chibi mutant mischief when Mystique makes an appearance. Glad you liked what happened to Carmen, thanks for the review!

**Shirley Hilton-** Hey welcome to the crew! Glad you liked what you read so far, thanks for the review!

**A.M.bookworm247-** LOL (hands over mini-Remy) Thank you for adopting, enjoy and have fun! Thanks for reviewing!

**ChloeMarie-**LOL I couldn't abandon these sweethearts! I solemnly swear that I won't let this story die and get discarded. Though it may take a while between updates, I am a slow worker. I am glad you like my story that much, thanks for the concern and the review!

**aprun-** Well I've recently put a lot of thought into it and decided that I don't actually want anything hugely bad or fatal to happen to any of the crew. So if I ever get the idea for Jean torture again (which honestly I don't think I will anytime soon) I'll keep your idea in mind mk? Thanks for the review!

**bloop-** Salutations to you too. Thanks for the review!

**Doza-** Wow I must say I'm impressed with your dedication to my story! Not done yet, but I'll be happy to tell you about any sequels that may result. (Between you and me I do have a few ideas for one that may be a sequel that might be able to stand on its own) Wow. I'm flattered that you are so impressed with my accents to ask for help! I'd love to help in any way I can. I love doing accents, it's so fun to me. If you need any help feel free to e-mail me. I'm heartsyhawkyahoo and I'm generally pretty quick with e-responses. Yups. The Carol Danvers thing was a twist on something a lot of people cover, in a whole new way, hopefully one that wasn't expected until I revealed her name at the end. And yups! Have a cookie, they're quite good! Everyone who sticks with me for this long and is so patient with me and my slow update schedual deserves their own batch! I'll admit it gets frustrating for even me when I have so much going on that I can only squeeze in a little time before bed each night. Hm, you'd like an assassin penguin? Sure why not? You can have this one here if you don't mind one named Razzle. Just be careful. Assassin penguins can get a little tough to manage sometimes, LOL. Hehe. I've noticed Carmen hasn't won herself many friends round here eh? Well that's alright I suppose. I would have been hurt if I had kept her original purpose. Then somehow my tolerance of her mutated and transmogrified until I wanted people to dislike her...Thank you so much for sticking with me and I'm glad you enjoy it so much. Thanks immensely for your (3) reviews!

**Disclaimer: Yay! I got the deed! And I have a lead on the missing sock! Joyous day! And my mini-mutant set has an odd fascination with flushing non traditional items down the- TABITHA SMITH BRING THAT DEED BACK HERE RIGHT THIS SECOND! _(FLUSH)_ (sighs) Well, I had a deed...anyone have any interest in soggy paper in which ink is illegible?**

**☺☺☺**☺☺☺**☺☺☺**

Wanda stared in disbelief. Her brother shook his head and gave Carmen a dashing smile.

"Sorry-I-wasn't-watching-where-I-was-going." He said, with an apologetic shrug.

Carmen glared at him. "Pay-attention-next-time-stupid-head." She snapped, her Spanish accent flaring.

"You're-really-pretty." Pietro blurted.

Her lips curled into a smirk. "I know." She shrugged. "It's a gift." She said proudly. Then her features darkened. "At least it was before that lil dog in red and black had her say."

"Wanda?" He blinked. "Aw she's harmless." He shrugged.

"You call burning my hair harmless? All you freaks are loco en la cabeza (1)." She snapped. And showed him the singe that was once her long glorious hair.

"My-sister-did-that?" He asked surprised.

"That perra sicopática (2) is your sister!" Carmen growled.

"Uh...what?" Pietro asked cluelessly as he didn't understand Spanish too well.

"She's your sister?" Carmen gaped.

"Wanda? She's my twin." He nodded.

"Ella es su hermana (3)!" Carmen cried out in Spanish, and clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Uh...I don't speak Spanish." He admitted and she gave him a withering look.

She glanced over to Wanda, who looked a lot less threatening, and a lot more ill for some reason. Carmen's face morphed to a smirk. This could be interesting and Wanda's reaction could make this little detail work it to her advantage.

She leaned in and kissed Pietro full out on the lips, then pulled away with a smirk. "Call me sometime, okay?" He nodded, wide eyed and dazed.

With that she zipped off in a blur of red. Pietro stared after the direction she headed, looking vaguely stupefied.

"Ewww!" Marie was first to find her voice. "Yucky!" She frowned, wrinkling her nose. "Paytro kissed her!"

"Dat not be right." Remy agreed, looking disgusted with Pietro. "Why dey go'a do dat so we can see it?"

"Growed ups are weird." Marie shook her head sadly. "Ah don' wan' eva git old."

"Remy neider." He frowned.

Lance grimaced and took each of them by the hand and gently led them down the steps. Wanda shook her head and followed silently, still shell shocked. Lorna looked a little uneasy herself as she hesitantly came down the steps.

Pietro collapsed back onto the grass smiling with his eyes blissfully shut.

"Um...Earth to Pietro." Lance waved a hand in front of his friends face. "What happened?" He turned to the group of people that had been outside.

"Peeto was zoomin' round so fast we couldn't not see 'im." Kitty started.

"An' then the lady came outta the house real fast." Tabby chimed in.

"And Peeto couldn't not see her cuz we could not see her cuz she was goin' way really fast." Kitty added in, giving Tabby an irritated look.

"We couldn't see him or her." Tabby informed Lance with a cheeky smile at Kitty.

"Sop it! 'M tellin' him!" Kitty scowled.

"Sop it! 'M tellin' him." Tabby mimicked.

"Don't copy!"

"Don't copy."

"Lance, Lance! Tabata's copping me!" Kitty pouted from behind the playpen bars. "Make her sop!"

Lance shook his head in half amusement. "Girls, play nice."

Colossus smiled gently. "Pietro vas using his super speed to go and get the food. That girl came out of the mansion at a speed very much similar to Pietro's. They did not see each other and collided." He explained in his heavy Russian accent. "Then he seemed quite enchanted with her. And she with him. As they sat their for a few moments just staring at each other."

Lance frowned. "What color were his eyes?"

"I cannot say." Colossus bowed his head. "From this distance my eyes are not very sharp. And I was not paying any attention to such details. Though I cannot imagine why they would be anything other than his normal blue."

"If his eyes were glowing pink she was using her powers on him." Wanda explained bitterly. "She can play with the stuff that makes you feel like you're in love."

Everyone's eyes leapt to Pietro who sat up grinning like a kid who'd just gotten his first kiss ever. "Wow. What-a-girl." He nodded in approval of her. "Wow. Just...Wow. I mean, geez she's gorgeous. And that accent of hers is to die for. And man is she hot stuff."

Wanda bit her lip and rolled her eyes. She signaled for Lance to knock some sense into his friend, not trusting herself to say anything.

"Careful Pietro. Didn't anyone ever teach you not to play with matches?" Lance asked edgily. "Carmen's got the potential to be dangerous for anybody."

"Carmen?" Pietro tested the name and smiled in acceptance. "Sounds-exotic-and-mysterious-and-fun. It-definitely-suits-her." He took a deep breath and nodded seriously. "I think I could love her."

"You don't even KNOW the first thing about her!" Wanda exploded.

"Your sister's right, Pietro." Lance sighed. "You're jumping in and definitely playing with fire here."

"Well-then-I-think-I-just-became-the-new-resident-pyromaniac." Pietro sighed contently.

Wanda and Lance exchanged a wary glance. To their knowledge, Pietro had never used the L word in the presence of any other person with the possible exception of his mother but that didn't count. And now he was saying it in all seriousness about a girl he literally just bumped into. But what made them uneasy was what they knew about her.

Pietro noticed and frowned. "You-know-I've-never-tried-getting-in-your-face-about-your-relationships. Wish-you'd-repay-the-kindness."

"Pietro, we just don't want to see you get hurt." Lance said in a way trying to show that he wasn't hostile.

Pietro hmphed and crossed his arms. "You-aren't-my-boss. Or-my-father." He said sternly.

Lance looked ready to respond but Wanda put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't. He's a big boy. He can make his own descisions about his own dating life...I hope."

Pietro scowled. "I'm-going-out. Dinner's-in-the-kitchen." Then he zoomed off.

Lance sighed bitterly and threw his arms in the air. "He is so..." He broke off at Wanda's sad sigh. "What's wrong."

Wanda shook her head and shrugged. "He can be so stubborn. Way too stubborn for his own good sometimes." She bit her lip hesitantly. "I just wish he'd stop to think before rushing into stuff."

"Well, if he did that, he wouldn't be Pietro." Lance rolled his eyes.

"True." Wanda nodded. "He'll come back. Right now we should get the little ones dinner." She gestured to the playpen of curious minimutants. "They're hungry, and unlike him, they can't get their own food."

Lance agreed and set Marie into the pen with the others and then turned to lift Remy in. "Guess I'll go in and get the food. May take me a few trips, but oh well. What can I do?"

"I'll help." Lorna volunteered.

"No, that's alright, you're a guest." Wanda chimed in. "You stay and play with the kids and I'll help him." She pointed out.

"Alright." The young nurse smiled gently, ruffling Remy's hair and earning a look of disgust as he patted it back down.

"Actually comrades. If you would prefer it, I could go and retrieve the food. It would take me fewer trips, given my strength." Piotr spoke up.

"That's true." Lance nodded. "I'll help you. That way we can do it in one trip."

Piotr nodded curtly. He stepped over the pen wall and headed into the institute. Within a few minutes the large group was eating dinner in the warm summer night air. The kids seemed happier to be playing outside than having food, so as soon as all of them had lost interest, except for Toad who was happily nestled in Wanda's arms, guzzling a bottle of apple juice, Lance cleared the dishes and Colossus and Spyke went inside to find some playthings for the little kids.

Lorna smiled as Toad cooed happily from his place in Wanda's arms and closed his eyes happily. "He's adorable." She said warmly.

"Yeah." Wanda agreed. "I used to think he was obnoxious, but I've grown to love him like this." She smiled and tickled the little boy's nose. "He's a little sweetheart."

"How old is he?" Lorna asked in a gentle voice.

"About a year old...give or take." Wanda answered.

"Really? He's so tiny." Lorna stated.

"He's always been like that." Wanda shrugged.

"Isn't he a little old to be drinking from a bottle all the time?" Lorna asked curiously.

"Honestly, I don't really know." Wanda sighed. "Before really recently, I've never been around little kids. You work in a hospital, how old do kids usually get out of bottles?"

"Well, I think parents usually start training babies with cups about five or six months." Lorna frowned thoughtfully.

Wanda looked surprised. "Is it bad that he's using bottles?"

"I don't think it would hurt him or anything, but you guys should probably try him with a cup pretty soon." Lorna pointed out kindly.

"I guess so." Wanda nodded, shifting the small boy's weight in her arm.

His hazel eyes fluttered open and he beamed up at her, cuddling closer. "My Wanna."

"Ohhhh, he's too sweet." Lorna gushed, as Wanda felt her heart melt.

"Really." Wanda tenderly kissed the little boy's forehead and hugged him gently.

An impish look crossed his face and his tiny fist shot up and found a handful of black hair after failing to catch an earring. She had deliberately selected a pair that could not be grabbed or pulled on. With a wince she forcefully pried his small hands from her head.

"Mine!" He informed her.

"No, mine. This is my hair Todd." Wanda corrected sternly.

"NoNoNo!" He said in a cheerful singsong.

Wanda sighed as Lorna stifled a giggle at the small child's antics. Wanda firmly held Todd's hands still and he started fussing. Instantly Wanda was cuddling him and cooing for him to calm down. He laughed and cuddled close.

At the small laugh, Pyro stopped trying to catch Kurt. He tilted his head, scrunched his face, and frowned. He toddled over to Wanda and tugged at her pant leg.

"Me wan' up!" He raised his arms insistently.

She looked a little confused at the sudden attention. Lorna laughed softly.

"He's jealous. Todd is getting your attention and he doesn't like that set up." She explained with a smile. "He just wants you to hold him for a little."

Wanda nodded and looked down at Toad who had just clutched at her arm as if he understood that his position was being compromised. "I don't know how well that's gonna work." She admitted.

Pyro pouted and raised his little arms higher and whimpered to get his point across.

"John, I'm holding Todd right now." Wanda tried to explain. The older mini-mutant's baby blue eyes widened and filled with tears.

His bottom lip trembled and he tried raising his arms higher. "Peez up? Peez?" He pleaded.

Wanda sighed and shifted the smaller boy. "Johnny, I'm holding Todd."

Toad gave Pyro a somewhat smug look and nestled closer to Wanda's arm. Pyro sat down hard and sniffled, the warning signs of a tantrum on the horizon. Wanda's eyes widened and she reached for the teeny redhead.

"Shhh don't cry Johnny," She said softly with a smile as she arranged it so her lap had room for both the boys. Pyro gave Todd a mischievous look and wrapped his arms around Wanda in a hug.

"That's so cute, they're both jealous of each other." Lorna grinned. "They like you."

Wanda nodded, a smile in place. "So I see." She laughed. She kissed each on the top of the head.

Kurt looked sadly at the happy group of mutants and sighed. "Me too?" He asked quietly.

Lorna's heart melted. "Wanda...it looks like somebody's feeling left out." She nodded at Kurt whose eyes were big and sad.

Wanda looked up and couldn't resist the heart melting scene. "What's wrong Kurt?"

The little blue boy held his tail in his hands sadly. "Mommy useta holded me like that. Miss my Mommy."

Wanda exchanged a glance with Lorna and the nurse extended her arms to the small boy. "Come here Kurt," She said gently.

Kurt toddled closer. He bit his lip and looked at Wanda, then Lorna.

"I think he'd rather have you." Lorna smiled.

Wanda frowned, her lap vacancy was already surpassed. What was with all this sudden interest in her anyway? Why did all three of these little boys want to sit on her lap, when Lorna was sitting right next to her, with a perfectly empty lap of her own.

Lorna chuckled softly at Wanda's dilemma and pulled the small blue toddler into her lap. "You seem to be quite popular with the little guys." She smiled.

Wanda shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know why. This is a recent development."

Pyro closed his eyes with a content smile, cuddling closer to Wanda. "My Mamda." He cooed.

Lorna smiled. "Awwwww he's too precious."

At that moment Spyke and Colossus exited the mansion with entertainment. Somewhere, quite possibly either in Bobby's bedroom or Jamie's, they had located a few large bubble blow wands and filled a large bucket with soapy water figuring that would be fun. Spyke had also found a few water guns and filled a cooler with a bunch of water balloons. It was a very warm evening and Evan was carrying two large duffel bags, stuffed with fluffy towels and a change of clothes per toddler.

The mini-mutants all flocked towards the two mutants who brought entertainment to them. Pyro gave them a reproachful look when he saw the bucket of soapy water but squealed in delight when Lance showed them how to blow bubbles. He tried to catch them and was frustrated by the fact that they popped every single time he managed to trap one in his hands. This lasted until his short attention span caught sight of a bright orange water gun.

He picked it up and tried to make it squirt water. Little did he know, he was holding it backwards, and thus ended up with a burst of water straight to his face which left him spluttering and staring at the gun in disbelief.

Kurt was one of the first to get into the water balloons, popping his first one over Kitty's head as she chased bubbles around happily. As the cool water trickled down her head, she stood completely still, shocked as she watched the water drip from her hair, before beginning to cry.

Lance was by her side in a flash, cooing and hugging and calming her down. "Shh, it's alright Kitty-cat. It's just a little water, pritty-kitty."

Kitty sniffled and looked up at him miserably. He smiled at her and grabbed a big fluffy towel. "Poor girl, Wanda's gonna take you inside so you can get into some nice warm clothes, alright?" He said kindly.

Wanda smiled gently at Kitty and reached to pick her up. Kitty nodded and Wanda brought her inside.

Kurt put a hand to his mouth. "Uh oh." He said, trying and failing to hide his grin.

"Uh Oh' is right." Lance assured the boy. "That wasn't very nice."

Kurt shrugged and scampered off to the balloons again. Lance sighed and shook his head. Bobby and Tabby got in on the action and started a water balloon war. It was their team slaughtering Scott, Jean, Fred, and Amara, who could barely hold a balloon, let alone throw it.

Rogue watched Remy chase bubbles around with a raised eyebrow. "Whatta ya doin'?" She wrinkled her nose.

"Remy catchin' de bubbles." He laughed and jumped for a high one.

"Yo' doin' it all wron' tho'." Rogue frowned.

"Nuh uh." Remy shook his head. "'S how dey doin' it." He gestured to Todd and Amara who'd given up the war after being pelted severely by the girl who would grow up to be her best friend, as Tabby was going nuts with the balloons. Jean had also forfeited, sick of Scott bossing them all around.

Rogue looked and sighed. "Remy, they doin' it the baby way." She explained. "Everone whose anyone knows ya don' do it that way!"

"Den howd'y' do it den lil miss smartypants?" He asked coyly.

Rogue rolled her emerald eyes. She trotted over to the buckets. When she came back she was holding something behind her back. Remy tried peeking over her shoulder but she didn't let him. "This is how ya do it tha right way, Rem." She pulled two large water guns from behind her back.

Remy's eyes widened. "Dat works. Definarily." He nodded and reached for the red one.

She grinned impishly and fired both of the water guns at him, catching him by complete and total surprise. "Hey dat ain' fair!"

"Alls fay in lub, war, an' card games, Remy." Rogue smirked. "Dat's what ma mama says anyhow...Ah think..." She paused to frown then shrug. "Oh well. This is how ya do it the right way."

She took aim with the green gun in her left hand and shot down a particularly big bubble. She turned back to Remy with a cheeky smirk.

He gaped at her, demon eyes huge as sauce plates. "Dat was so cool!"

"Thank ya." She smiled modestly before grinning impishly. "Mama teached me ta be the bestest shooter around. She lets me pratiss on the game where ya shoot the duckies wid a gun on the tv."

Remy nodded in his approval. He took the red gun and the two shot down the bubbles as fast as Piotr and Lorna could blow them.

Wanda soon came back out of the mansion with kitty in tow. She had changed Kitty into the pink footed pajamas. Lance got an idea when he saw her.

"Hey Pritty-Kitty." He scooped her up and kissed her nose.

"Hi." She smiled, curling one arm around his neck and putting her other thumb to her mouth.

"You all warm and dry?" He asked. She nodded, sleepiness showing in her eyes. "You tired?" She nodded again. "How would you like to sleep out here?" He asked, having been inspired by her pajamas. She removed her thumb and thought for a moment before nodding her approval and putting her thumb back into place. "Well that settles it. You guys up for a camp out?" Lance asked the others.

Piotr raised an eyebrow, and Spyke looked inquisitive. Wanda looked up curiously.

"I think the professor has a couple big tents in the garage. We could set two of em up. One for guys and one for girls. It's a warm enough night that we shouldn't need to worry about it. It could be fun for the kids."

"I don't know..." Amanda piped up, startling Lance as he'd forgotten she was there. "I mean, you guys are down a lotta people. There are the kids that went to camp, which takes away six right then and there. And I have to leave really soon. Can you guys handle 12 toddlers on your own?"

"She does have a point." Spyke pointed out. "I mean, face it, man. Since Quicksilver took off in a righteous huff, we're down to you, me, Wanda, and the tin man. What kinda odds do you think we'd stand against 12 little kids?" He asked skeptically.

Lance frowned, not wanting to admit that Spyke was very right.

"I could stay if you want." Lorna volunteered. "I really don't have anything on my schedule for tonight. I'm free until six tomorrow night. But then I'm on call for the night shift The head nurse Mary's daughter is getting married that morning and the reception may not be over in time for her shift.In either case I can stay over, if you guys don't mind of course."

Wanda looked at her like she'd just grown a third eye. "Are you crazy? We'd love your help. You're a nurse, you know what these kids need better than all of us put together. And as of right now I'm the only girl who will be here all night." She cast wary eyes on Tabby who was cackling horribly as she hurled a balloon at Pyro who looked frightened and miserable until he remembered he was the one holding the water gun. "And I can make no promises that both all the little girls and me will make it through the night if there isn't any help."

Lorna smiled. "I'll be happy to stay and help. It looks like you guys have your hands full with this crew."

Spyke raised an eyebrow as baby Toad splashed happily in a mud puddle and Marie and Remy ran by spraying the water guns at each other full force, Marie's special method of popping the bubbles completely forgotten. "You think?" Spyke asked sarcastically.

Lance gave the younger mutant a withering glare and turned to Lorna. "We'd really appreciate the help Lorna."

Lorna nodded with a smile. "Ok then. Just let me call my uncle and run home to grab a change of clothes."

Wanda nodded. "Sounds good unless you wanna borrow something of mine. Or one of the other girls who live here." Wanda studied the girl. "You look like you're somewhere between Jubilee and Kitty's sizes. And you'd probably like their stuff too."

Lorna smiled. "That works. It'll save me about an hour commute. I guess I could always wash what I borrow and head home in the morning."

Lance nodded. "Then I guess the only thing to do is get the tents set up, and um, maybe get all the kids changed and dry."

Piotr headed to the garage. "I will be happy to get the tents assembled. I shall get them away from the wet grass however."

"Thanks big guy." Spyke clapped a hand on Colossus' back. "Think you need any help? I mean, those things are pretty heavy."

"I am quite certain that I will be alright." Piotr inclined his head.

"No really, I'd rather help you than hang around the runts." Evan assured him.

Piotr shrugged and the two headed off. Lance rolled his eyes in Evan's direction. Looked like he had to take care of all the boys. Now the only problem was rounding up the kids. They were scattered throughout the rather large play area and he didn't think they'd come quietly if they knew they were almost at bedtime.

"Ok guys, who wants to camp outside?" Wanda called to the kids. A few of them ignored the girl totally. But the rest looked over at her curiously.

"Like grill spouts?" Jean asked softly. "Where we stay in a trend and sing songs?"

Wanda blinked, having never been a girl scout. After all, what chance did she have, she had grown up in an asylum, not that she remembered that but still. Fortunately Lorna knew how to reply.

"Yep, just like the Girl Scouts, Jean." She said kindly.

"My sister Sarah is a Grill Spout." Jean said sweetly. "She likeded it when they went camping. They stayed in a trend, and swept in sweepy bags, and singed lotsa songs and made artsycalfs. It sounds fun."

"It will be." Lorna smiled. "Why don't you guys all come over here to us and we'll tell you more."

The kids came curiously over. "Have any of you ever been camping before?" Lorna asked the group. Most of them shook their heads. "Well, when you camp, you sleep in a tent outside all night."

Remy frowned. "Why would some'ody do a t'in' like dat?"

"Because it's fun." Lorna explained.

"Why sweep in tend?" Tabby asked solemly.

"Because a tent is more comfortable than sleeping straight outside." Lorna smiled.

"Why?" Remy asked.

"So rain doesn't fall on you." Lorna said cautiously.

"Why?" Tabby tilted her head to the side.

"So you don't get wet." Lorna forced a smile, sensing the game being played.

"Why?" Remy blinked innocently.

Lorna sighed. "Because you don't want to get sick."

"Why?" Tabby's blue eyes widened.

"Because. Just because." Lorna sighed and brought a hand to her temple.

Remy opened his mouth again and Lorna snapped. "That's the way things work. Don't ask why Remy." She warned. He grinned at her.

"Will we sing songs around a campfire?" Jean tugged the older girl's pant leg. "Sarah did."

After Lance shrugged a 'why not', Lorna smiled. "You bet. But only if you guys come inside and get into nice warm clothes so you won't get cold overnight."

"But I's too hot aready!" Bobby complained.

"Don't you wanna wear your super hero costume again Bobby?" Lance tried gently.

The toddler's face lit up. "Yeah!" Lance chuckled, this morning they'd had to fight to get him out of his pajamas.

"Ok then, do you all like the idea of sleeping outside?"

"Gunna be buggies?" Pyro asked curiously.

"Uh yeah, I guess." Lance raised an eyebrow.

"You sayed that we'd get to see ants in our pi'nic but Oy didn' not." He pouted sadly.

Lance blinked. "Well, if there are any ants around tonight, I'm sure you'll see them." He said kindly.

The little boy nodded and they all headed in. Wanda and Lorna took Jean, Marie, Tabby, Kitty, and Amara as Lance took the boys to get changed.

Lorna checked with Warren if Marie was alright to sleep outside and he repeated his earlier instructions only advised them to keep her very warm and secure.

When Lorna got back to the room the girls had been sleeping in, Wanda was gently brushing Tabitha's hair into twain pig tails. All the little girls were changed into warm and dry pajamas. Kitty was sitting up on her bed, sucking her thumb, exhaustion showing in her soft features. Amara was cooing and babbling contently as Jean gently ran a brush through the silky soft dark baby hair on her head. Jean was being as gentle as she could, as if Amara was a porcelain doll that could shatter very easily. Marie on the other hand was quietly sitting a little away from the others with a woeful look on her face. She didn't want what happened at the pool earlier to happen again.

She looked at her friends and sighed. She wasn't the only one who did strange things. Tabby could make little exploding balls, that was pretty cool. Bobby could turn things into ice, now that would be fun to have. From what Remy had said last night, the strange looking blue boy could make himself disappear and reappear. Even Remy himself had a cool power. He could blow things up. She didn't think she'd mind if she could do something like that. She didn't know exactly what happened to that life guard, but she could still hear the other girl in her head. Her head hurt like somebody was hitting her brain from the inside.

She clenched her eyes shut. "Leave me lone." She whispered to the voice in her head. "Ya hurtin' me. Ah didn' mean ta do nothin' to ya!"

Jean turned, compassion in her own grass green eyes. "It isn't your fot Marie. It was a atsident."

Rogue looked up, confused. "How'd ya hear thayat?"

"You sayed it." Jean frowned.

"Nuh uh." Rogue shook her head. "Ah on'y thinked it."

Jean bit her lip. "Then how come I knowed you thinked it?"

"Maybe y'all can read people's minds." Rogue suggested.

"But...I don't even know my ABC's past J!" Jean protested. "How could I read peoples brains?" She panicked.

Marie shrugged one shoulder. "Ah dono. Just like how Tabby makes them splody balls, and Bobby can turns thingies into ice or how Remy makes stuff blow up." She sucked in a pitiful breath. "Or like how Ah hurted that lady at the swimmy pool."

Jean lay a hand on the younger girl's arm. "Everyfing will be okay."

Marie managed a smile. "What can ya tell the future too?"

Jean shook her head. "No. Just I know somehow that it will."

Lorna smiled at the girls then turned to Wanda. "Um, you mentioned something about borrowing clothes?"

Wanda nodded. "I can go get you something from one of the other girl's closets. You don't strike me as the type to be too into my style of clothes." She headed out of the room but then poked her head back in. "Um, nightgown or 2 piece set?"

"Either's fine." Lorna assured her. "Thanks again."

Wanda smiled and waved it off. Lorna turned to the girls.

"You guys all look like you've had a fun day." She said warmly. Tabby nodded.

"We went to the swimmy pool and watched movies and then we ate dinner outside an Tabby not eben a...bit sweepy." She said with a big grin as she yawned.

"Really?" Lorna laughed.

The girl nodded her head. "Yups."

Lorna rolled her eyes in amusement as Tabby yawned again. Surveying the room showed her that Marie seemed a little afraid.

"Hey Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She asked sitting beside Rogue.

Jean answered with a sorrow filled sigh. "She feel bad bout hurting the lady at the pool."

"Aw Marie, it was only an accident." Lorna said gently, laying a hand on the little girl's back. "It wasn't your fault. Everything will be okay. I promise."

Marie shrugged. Jean bit her lip and scurried over to talk to Kitty.

"Hey, you know what?" Lorna smiled at Marie. "When I was little my mom would braid my hair in pigtails when I felt sad. Would you like me to give it a try?"

Marie tilted her head to the side. "Okay." Lorna picked up a brush but decided against using it on the little girl's natural ringlet curls. She separated the hair into two thick strands and then divided one strand into 3 smaller sections. She then carefully wove the girl's hair so a white streak ran through the braid, separating the two sections of auburn hair. She finished the end with a dark green elastic hair band from a multicolored pack on the table in the planning room. She quickly did the other side and smiled.

"How does it look?" Marie asked.

"Very pretty." Lorna assured the girl. She fished around her pocket for a small mirror and showed the little girl who smiled.

"Thank ya." She nodded politely.

"No problem." Lorna smiled warmly.

Wanda cleared her throat from the doorway. "As much as I don't wanna break up the tender moment, we should probably head outside soon. It's getting kinda late." She said sagely, glimpsing Kitty's drowziness and Tabby's yawns. "Oh and I have two choices for you. Purple PJ's with Hello Kitty on the front or a yellow nightgown." Wanda held the two choices out for Lorna's approval.

Lorna squealed at how cute the teddy bear on the night gown was but she picked the purple pajamas for modesty's sake. She hurriedly changed and helped Wanda escort the little girls outside.

Piotr and Evan were sitting by the tents waiting when they got out. Wanda and Lorna looked impressed with the set up, and sat down in the enclosed area, letting the girls play as they waited for the boys.

About half an hour later Lance trudged out of the mansion, looking exhausted. He was loosely holding Toad in one arm, and Pyro's hand with the other.

"Sorry that took longer than it should have." He sighed tersely. "There were a few too many issues." He narrowed his eyes and sighed in the general direction of Bobby who was looking smug, Kurt who was sniffling, and Fred who was holding a tissue to a bleeding nose.

"Uh oh." Wanda bit her bottom lip. "Do I wanna ask what happened?"

"Probably not." Lance shook his head grimly. "But I'm telling you anyway." He said seriously. "Bobby thought it would be fun to teach everyone else how to ice skate."

Wanda brought a hand to her mouth.

"That sounds bad." Lorna sighed.

"Bad I can handle." Lance groaned. "Johnny slipped immediately, and of course banged up his elbow pretty harshly and skinned his knees on the metal floors of the DR. And of course by the rules of nature, Freddy was trying to help our resident Aussie up and fell over onto him, smashing his face into the wall. And then Toad started pulling on Kurt's tail calling him a 'kiki', which I think means kitty."

"Poor little guys." Wanda said softly. John saw her and wrenched his hand away from Lance and hurled himself at her, latching tightly around her left knee. She looked in bewilderment at the shockingly orange top of his head. She gently pulled him off and knelt to be at his eye level.

"What's wrong?"

"Bobby hurted Johnny wif ice!" He murmured. "Made me skinned moy knee an' bump m'elba." His blue eyes widened.

"Remy see'd." The older boy nodded sagely. But then he whimpered and cast his eyes to the ground.

"Remy? What's wrong with him?" Wanda asked Lance who sighed.

"He had his own little incident." Lance winced. "You might actually say he started the whole mess. He accidentally charged one of his socks and he was so shocked he dropped it. The blast knocked Bobby down and he retaliated. So now Remy blames himself for the other's getting hurt."

"Remy, it was an accident." Wanda said gently.

"Tried telling him that." Lance shrugged, setting Toadling down into the enclosure. "He isn't listening. He's ashamed of his powers."

Wanda gave the young boy a pitying glance.

Marie came over with a curious expression. "Whatcha sad bout Rem'?"

"Don' come 'ny closer." He snapped and backed up.

"Why?" Rogue frowned, confused.

"Cuz Remy don' wan' y' t'." He said firmly. She rolled her eyes and stepped closer.

She snorted defiantly. "An' dat matters whah?"

"Don'!" Remy whined. "Go 'way!"

"Don' hafta." She smirked.

"Oui y' do!" He narrowed his demonic eyes. "Remy sayed t'!"

"Ya ain' the bossa me." She said in a singsong as she stepped closer.

"Don' touch me." He warned.

"O' what?" She asked defiant as ever, taking a step closer.

"Remy don' wanna hurt ya." He said weakly, with a big backwards step.

"Rem', ya won' hut me!" Her emerald eyes grew large. "Iss lahke ya sayed ta me. Ever'fin's gonna be alright."

"Dis be diff'ren'." He frowned.

"How?" She asked. "Ah fink iss tha same ezat fing!"

"It ain'." He assured her.

She stamped her foot. "Remy! Ya ain' gonna hurt no one."

He sighed. "Y' don' know dat! So don' go an be all brave. Don' touch Remy!"

She rolled her eyes and sidled up close to him. She reached out a finger and smirked as she brought it to his shoulder and hovered her fingertip an inch away from him. "Ah'm not touchin' ya."

"Stoppit!" He grumbled.

"Stop what? Ah ain' doin' nothin wrong." She smiled innocently

He glared at her. "Lance make 'er stop!"

"Marie," Lance started in a dissapproving tone.

"Ah didn' do nothin'!" She pouted. "That a crime now?"

Wanda rolled her eyes at Lance. It was almost as if the two had switched normal personalities. Remy was usually the persistant one and Rogue usually acted up the fear.

"Look Remy, Yo' always tellin' me tha' ya can't just give up, an' things'll turn out all right. But then ya go an' say stuff that means the osopite. Ma mama calls that bein' a hypercat." Marie frowned. She reached to hold his hand.

He shook his head sadly and pulled his arm behind his back.

"Y'ain' no fun anymo'." Marie scowled. "Yo' actin' like a lil baby. Yo' splodin' power's jussa parta who ya are. Ya can't be 'fraid of it. It's silly. Jus almos' like if Ah was scared a mah white hair." She said sagely.

"Ah'm dang'rous." He said in a bitter tone. "Remy can hurt peoples."

"So what?" She cocked her head to the side. "Ah can too. An' so can Tabata an' Bobby too. Anybody can hurt anybody else but that ain' a good reason ta be scared of ya own self."

Lance smiled, for a three year old, especially a three year old Rogue, that was quite a speech. He wondered what exactly could have made this spunky little girl grow into the recluse she had eventually become.

Remy thought about what she said. He bit his lip and then tilted his head to the side, scrunching up his little nose. "Y' t'ink dat fo' real?"

"Ah know it." She said simply. "Ma mama says its true, so it gottsa be."

Remy nodded and his demeaner seemed to cheer up drastically. "So we gonna sleep outsides t'night?"

"Yea we sure are Remy." Lance chuckled at his sudden moodswing.

"An' are we gonna have a cramp fire?" The little boy's eyes lit up.

"But of course." Wanda smiled.

"Den Remy call first dibs on ghosty stories!"

**☺☺☺**☺☺☺**☺☺☺**

**Hi again, (hides under desk) Please don't be mad, I know that this was a very long wait for the update, and it may not be what you want to happen in the story at the moment but I can promise that in the upcoming chapters things will get side split hilarious and straight sugar/pixie stix sweet. But on a madly desperate ploy...I desperately need help! Anybody out there know any good ghost stories? Bearing in mind the age of the tellers and audience...I have a few but I'd love to get some creative ideas from you, my beloved fellow readers and writers. I can do silly and a touch scary but we don't want any two year olds with nightmares about blood sucking zombies or something. So if you have any ideas for a story a lil kid would tell please don't hesitate to submit em.**

**ALSO ON ONE FINAL NOTE, ANYBODY WHO WISHES CARMEN TO DIE A MOST PAINFUL DEATH, PLEASE CHECK OUT MY CO-WRITTEN STORY "END OF THE WORLD" IN HOWLERDRODE'S ACCOUNT! I AM SURE THAT YOU WILL BE SATISFIED WITH THE RESULTS!**

1. crazy in the head  
2. psychotic bitch  
3. She's your twin

**♥HH♥**

completed September 27th, 2005


	19. CANTANKEROUS CAROL

**The prodigal authoress has returned to the scene! After over three months I have finally updated BID! I'd like to take the time to dedicate this story to all of you who put up with my annoyingly slow updating and still stick with me anyway. I love all of you who read and review so much, and while I can't tell you how much right here as there is a new rule in place, you shall all get your reply ASAP. Now on another note, if you are reviewing anonymously and want a reply please create an account or at least leave me with an e-mail address please!**

**Disclaimer-**Did you know that humans share over 50 of their DNA with bananas? No? Then I bet you also didn't know that I sadly don't own any of the stuff I'm working with save the story...

☺☺☺

"'T was a dark an' stormin' night. All the lil kids was home in deir beds, aposta be sweepin'." Remy began his story dramatically as Lance and Wanda worked on getting a small camp fire started.

Kitty clutched her new stuffed dragon and gaped at the older boy in awe. "What stowy he gonna tell?" She asked Marie.

"Dunno, but it betta be good." Marie whispered back.

"Well, if de two a y' would be quiet, Remy could get dere." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, a man was in de town a sweepy howow. His name was Itchybutt Crayon."

"I don't fink his mommy wiked him vewy much did she?" Kitty whispered to Rogue who shook her head.

"Ah'm glad Ah didn' get stuck wif such a dumb name."

Remy frowned and put his hands on his hips. "Stop imperupin' Remy!"

Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Well it ain' our fault ya takin' too long ta git ta the good part."

He huffed and continued. "As Remy was bout ta say, he was a teacher at the skull. And he liked a perty gal. She was de mos' belle fille in Sweepy Howow. All de hommes liked her and wanted to marry her. But nobody could. I think it might be acuz de headless horseyman."

"What's a headless horseyman?" Kitty asked in a small voice.

"He a big stupid homme wit'out a head. An' he rides round on a big mean horsey that spits fire." Remy paused. "Remy fink he might be related t' dis boy who live in de house next door t' him. But dat don' matter. Dis ain' about Julian. The horseyman rode around at night but he had to follow all these stupid rules. Like for ezample...he couldn't cross bridges, an' he had ta go away befo' the sun came up an stuff like that. He was tryin' ta find his head which he losted somewhere a long time ago.

One night, Itchybutt Crayon was bein' a idiot and walkin' around late at night cuz he was gonna ask de belle fille to marry him. An' all of a sudden the headless horseyman came outta nowhere an' decided that he wanted to get himself a new head. Remy guess he musta decided he liked Mr. Crayon's head an' he missed his naptime ou sometin' acuz he didn' care that Mr. Crayon was usin it. He tried to take it so Itchybutt Crayon ran an' ran an' ran until he found a bridge but the horseyman caught him...an' dey never saw him again..." Remy finished in a whisper.

"N-Neber?" Kitty whimpered.

"Not ever again." Remy shook his head solemnly. "Well, not de same way anyway. Some people say dat he be de new headless horseyman an' he lookin' for a new head fo' himself."

"Don' scare her!" Jean chastised, looking concerned for her younger friend.

"I'm okay." Kitty cocked her head to the side. "Can it be my turn to tew a stowy now?"

"Okay." Remy agreed.

Kitty grinned. "Once upon a time there was a bunny. His mommy named him Peter acuz she liked that name. He had a blue coat an' lil teeny shoesies."

Remy groaned. "Kitty we're uposta be telling scary stories!" He groaned. "Bunnies ain' scary!"

"I wike bunnies though..." She bit her lip.

"Me too." Said Jean.

"Funny Bunnies!" Giggled Tabitha.

Remy groaned, "No bunnies!"

"Why not?"

"Cuz!" He rolled his eyes. Realizing he wasn't likely to get his way, he stomped his foot and scowled. "At least make it a scary bunny?"

Kitty thought for a moment and then nodded. "Once upon a time the bunny named Peter meeted a ghosty bunny. The ghosty bunny's name was...uh...Fluffy. They wan'ed go to the farmy mans yard and get carrots, but there was a fence. So Fluffy went through the fence and got the carrots and they were all happy forever after!"

Remy massaged his temples. However many of the other girls were all cheering and happy. Lance for one thought Kitty's little story was adorable.

Rogue softly shook her head. Kitty was too clueless sometimes. "Mah turn." All attention focused on her.

"This is a real story from a place called Transmissletoevania. It all started when all the people started bein' scared of Count Spatula. He could turn into a bat an' drink peebles bloods. Most people don' like that much. So they started wearin' garlic cuz its stinky and he wouldn' bite them. And um, Ah think mah mama said he didn' like steak. Or silverware. So people founded out ya could kill him with those and started carrying big silver forks to poke him away with.

But then he got a doggy that wasn't really a doggy. He was a werewoof. That means he turned into a wolf an' howled when the moon gets big. The doggy didn' like silverwares either and he could turn into a people and the people wanted to burn them and make them go away so they lit torches on fire and were gonna burn down Count Spatulas house and-"

She was interrupted by the sounds of the other toddler's screaming. Lance and the other normally aged mutants were freaking out. The fire had been lit, with a little help from matches and Wanda's powers. But the blaze scaring the small children was Amara. The instant the flames had appeared she herself had giggled and then she was a blaze. The tiny princess clapped her hands and the fire grew bigger each time. All the other children had scurried away and were clutching Wanda and Lorna tightly.

Well all except for Pyro, who sat there mesmerized.

"John, get away from her!" Lance called franticly. He hoped Amara would just put her own flame out, but it didn't look like that was happening.

"What happning to 'Mara?" Tabby pulled at Lance's hand in fear.

"Tabby go sit with the others." He said gently, trying to force a calm response. He was feeling sick at the intensity of the heat. He pushed them all back a bit and reached around to grab the small red headed Aussie. To his immense shock the boy was seated cross-legged across from Amara, the two of them petting a fire puppy, the camp fire forgotten.

Lance collapsed to his knees, shaking. He'd forgotten that Pyro had the ability to manipulate fire, including its temperature. This group of kids was enough to cause even the strongest person to have a mental breakdown. He ran a quick mental check of the kids who had their powers develop: Remy, Bobby, Tabby, Toad, Kurt, Jean, Scott, Rogue, and now Pyro and Amara. That only left Kitty and Freddy of the twelve mini mutants powerless He massaged his temples and thought.

Pyro wasn't really dangerous unless Amara was all flamed up. But the others had definite potential.

Wanda noticed his distress. "Johnny!" She called. He looked over his shoulder and smiled his toothy grin at her. Instantly the puppy disappeared. He toddled over to her. She sighed in relief and scooped him up into her arms. "Don't scare me like that! You could have gotten burned!" She scolded.

He tilted his head and wrinkled his eyebrows. "Johnny badboy?" He asked softly.

Her heart melted and she held him close. "No, you aren't a bad boy. But don't play with fire, it's bad!"

He nodded like he understood. "But so perty!" He pouted.

Wanda sighed and set him down. All the other teens were watching with raised eyebrows.

"You, Wanda, will make a damn good mother someday." Evan informed her with wide eyes.

"Watch your mouth, Daniels." She grumbled.

"Point exact." He rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Seriously, man, it's like it just comes naturally to you."

"I am inclined to agree." Piotr smiled, a rare event for anyone to observe. "You have a way with the little ones."

She shrugged, uncomfortable with how everyone kept telling her that she was so good with little kids. Really this was the first event that even had her near small children.

"Hey who wants s'mores?" Lance asked lightly, sensing her discomfort with the topic at hand.

"Whass dat?" Pyro scrunched up his nose curiously.

"I know!" Jean smiled. "S'mores are somfin' yummy that peoples eat when they go camp. I fink they gots a grim cracker, mushmellows and chocolates."

"Right you are." Lance nodded. "You cook the marshmallows on sticks in the fire."

Several blank stares met this declaration. "Like this." Lorna said gently, grabbing a marshmallow from the bag Lance had brought outside. She put it on the end of a stick the length of her arm and held it over the fire. The toddlers watched in revered silence as she rotated it until finally she removed it and it was golden brown.

She smiled at the astonished looks as she broke a graham cracker in half and pulled the marshmallow from the stick with it before placing a small hershey's bar on top of the marshmallow. "And here we have a s'more."

"It nummy?" Fred asked quietly.

"Sara says so." Jean shrugged.

"Here. You try it for yourself." Lorna smiled at the heavy toddler and handed him the treat.

He took a cautious bite before his eyes lit up. "It good!" He looked ready to shovel the rest into his mouth but he hesitated. He turned to Jean. "Wanna try?"

Lance and Evan's jaws plummeted. The blob was offering to share food with Jean!

Jean seemed to ponder his offer before Scott stormed over. "If I was you I wouldn't eat it. He bited it. That's gross!" He complained.

Jean rolled her eyes and ignored the scowling older boy. She smiled sweetly at Fred. "Fank you, but I couldn't take it. It's yours. Miss Lorna gived it to you."

"Sure?" Freddy asked. "I break off part I bited if you wants."

"That's alright." Jean smiled.

"Ok." Freddy ate his treat.

Lance laughed and beckoned all the kids closer. He gave them each a marshmallow and a stick and was all for letting them have fun. Things were going great, at least until Jean's marshmallow caught on fire. She cried out in surprise as the marshmallow was engulfed in blue flame. She watched in dismay as it shriveled and blackened. She removed it from the fire and looked ready to cry. Scott and a couple other boys laughed at her misfortune.

"Oh no, Jean, it looks like you cooked it a little to long." Lorna said softly. "Its alright though, that happens to everybody sometimes. Want another one?"

Jean sniffled and was ready to take one. "Wait!" Freddy called to her. He looked at his marshmallow, and then at Jean. "Wan' mines?" He held it out to her. Somehow his was a toasty brown, nearly perfect.

"You cooked it." Jean shook her head. "I messeded mines up. I can't take your perfec one."

He shook his head and continued holding it out. "I aleady eated one. Want you eat." He pleaded with his eyes.

She reached for the stick. "Fank you Feddy."

He beamed at her and took the marshmallow Lorna offered. Lance watched with a curious expression. He figured he was the only one who noticed that Scott was making fun of Jean to Kurt and Bobby from the other side of the fire. Freddy heard and stuck his tongue out at the older boy.

Lance frowned. He had always thought of Scott and Jean as snotty jerks. And he found it hard to picture one in his mind without the other. However, as things were playing out, Lance was seeing that Jean wasn't quite the bratty miss perfect he had always assumed she was.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Wanda asked quietly. He jumped in mild surprise. "Seeing how different they are. It's hard to believe they grow into the people we know, isn't it?" She frowned and glanced at the littlest of the mini-mutants, Toad, who currently was in her lap slurping on a marshmallow.

"Really." He nodded. "I was just thinking..."

"Thought I smelt something burning." She smirked playfully.

"Funny." He rolled his eyes. "Do you think they'll remember any of this? Any friendships or anything? You know...if Forge can put them right."

"Don't worry, he'll be able to fix it." Wanda assured. "I just...have a feeling. And I don't know how this whole thing will affect them. I guess it would be a little weird." She confessed.

"Really." Lance agreed. Wanda set Toad down and he crawled off to play with the other kids.

"So...what do you think our odds are that they'll go to sleep easily?" Wanda asked, glancing at her watch.

Lance snorted. "After feeding them sugar and letting them tell scary stories? Those odds are probably as good as the ones sayin' that Wolverine pops the question to you when the adults get home."

Wanda shuddered. "If you ever suggest that again, I will not be held accountable for my actions."

Lance snickered. "Oh I don't know, I mean, have you ever seen the way he looks at you?"

Wanda raised an eyebrow. "Oh you mean with that same mushy look Summers sends your way in the danger room?" She batted her eyes, causing him to yelp.

"Not funny. Not funny at all."

"Exactly." Wanda agreed. "Mr. Logan's old enough to be my father's great-grand father for crying out loud."

"Point well received." Lance saluted.

"Well, putting those really disturbing mental images aside, I think we should probably think about getting the pack of wild mini-mutants to sleep. From the sounds of things, tomorrow's going to be a very busy day."

"Oh yeah." Lance whistled.

Wanda rose to her feet. Lance sighed and followed suit. He put two fingers to his lips and gave a shrill whistle. All the little kids looked towards him.

"Alright you bunch. I know we've all been having fun but I think it's time to call it a night." 12 sets of eyes stared at him like he was an idiot. He ignored it. "Boys come over here with me, girls, right over here with Wanda."

The kids stayed where they were. "You not our boss." Scott stuck his tongue at Lance. "You can't tell us what to do."

Lance bit back a sharp retort, reminding himself that Scott was in the rebellious toddler stage and it would not help to show annoyance. So he smiled and crossed his arms. "Okay everybody, we have a busy day tomorrow. So you guys need to cooperate with us, okay? It's time to go to bed now."

At the word twelve kids bolted as fast as tiny unsturdy legs could carry them. Spike sighed. "Man, why'd you go and tell them that?" He groaned. "Now we're going to have to catch them!"

Lance sighed. "I miss Danger Room sessions where Wolverine could threaten to beat the crap out of you for being disobedient." He blinked. "And I never thought I'd say that."

"We'll call the world records later, man." Evan assured him. "First lets round up our dear teammates."

"Well at least they can't get too far." Lance smiled cheerily. "The pen is small enough so they only have so far."

Spyke looked at him as if to say that was the stupidest thing Lance ever said. "Still, they're fast. And small. Man, I'm never having kids after this." He swore.

"Let's just split up. I mean, it's just twelve little kids. There are four of us."

"Five." Lorna added.

"Right." Lance nodded. "We're older, stronger, and smarter. How hard will it be?"

"Famous last words." Evan scoffed.

"Okay, lets just go do this." Lance tried to smile. "We just have to pick who each of us will go for."

"Dibbs on Toad, Blob, and Amara!" Evan called, picking the slowest and easiest to catch.

"I'll get Jean, and Kitty." Lorna offered.

"I'll take John and night crawler." Wanda shrugged.

"Fine leave me with the hardest two girls." Lance rolled his eyes. "Guess I'm stuck with Tabby, Marie, Remy, and...Summers." Lance wrinkled his nose as if Scott's last name left a nasty taste in his mouth.

"I vill take the boys." Piotr spoke up. "If you are vishink it."

"Thanks big guy." Lance smiled in relief. "I owe ya one."

"I vill hold you to that." Piotr bowed his head.

The group split and charged at the smaller mutants. Evan had it relatively easy, as neither Todd nor Amara could toddle far at all, and Freddy couldn't move too mast due to his being so heavy.

And Lorna had it relatively easy as well. After running around giggling for a little, Kitty and Jean started running out of energy. Kitty sat down and threw up her arms, pleading for Lorna to pick her up. Jean held onto the older girl's hand and allowed herself to be led to the girls' tent. Lorna got the two tired girls tucked into sleeping bags as Spyke entered with Amara sleeping with her head leaned on his shoulder. He gently handed her to Lorna, who put her into the portable crib they had brought out. Spyke nodded to the girl and headed back to the boys' tent.

Wanda had thought Pyro would prove to be the most difficult, but he came toddling over when she called him. It was Mystique's young son who she guessed was trying to give her gray hair before her eighteenth birthday.

"Kurt!" She called in dismay. He was giggling and taunting in broken German as he disappeared and reappeared a few feet away each time.

"Him bad boy?" Pyro chewed curiously on his thumb.

"No John, he's not bad. Just annoying." Wanda tickled his chin. "I'm going to have to put you down, okay kiddo?" She moved to leave him in the tent designated for the guys.

"NO!" He called, clutching his arms around her. "No bed! Wanna stay wif you! Catch boo boy!" He pleaded.

Wanda sighed. "John, it's time for sleeping, not playing." She said as sternly as she could manage.

He turned in his bottom lip, and pooled his big blue eyes with tears. He whimpered and she shut her eyes. "I'm not buying that. Please, just go to bed?"

He sniffled and looked dejected as he turned to the tent, shuffling his feet sadly on the way. Which was the reason two minutes later he was laughing at Wanda's failing attempt to catch Nightcrawler as he struggled to keep up with her pace. Kurt continued his porting, discovering it to be faster than his toddler ability to run.

"Kurt, please come back!" She pleaded. "I'll give you a marshmallow!" She tried desperately.

"Yours giving you a tough time too?" Lance walked up beside her. She raised an eyebrow at his charred and disheveled face. He looked like something had blown up on him.

"Tabby." He replied to her unasked question. "She and Marie are one hell of a tag team, especially since she keeps having 'accidents' with her powers."

Wanda nodded in understanding. "Nightcrawler's figured out how to work his powers. He's making a mockery of me and Pyro isn't making it easier." Wanda sighed. "He won't go to sleep."

"Hey there buddy, are you helping Wanda out?" Lance knelt down and smiled at Pyro.

The little red-head nodded. "Yup. Catchin boo boy but he no let us."

Lance nodded. "Well is that so? I'm glad you're such a big boy you can help."

Pyro beamed.

Lance smiled. "In fact, I could use such a bi-g help like you."

"Really? For what?"

"Well you are a big help, but not all the others are acting like big boys or girls. Do you want to be my deputy and help me make sure everybody does what they're supposed to?"

"What is depardy?" He turned quizzical eyes to Lance.

"It's somebody very special." Lance assured him. "You get to help me be in charge of the other kids to make sure they go to bed."

"Do I get to wear a funny hat?" Pyro asked excitedly.

Lance laughed. "Well I don't have one on hand right now, but tomorrow I'll find you a good one. How's that sound?"

The little boy pondered it for a moment. "Ok."

Lance grinned. "Okay, first up, we have to apprehend Tabitha and Marie."

Pyro puffed with pride and took Lance's hand as he proudly marched toward the girls.

"Thanks." Mouthed Wanda gratefully before turning back to the direction she'd last seen Nightcrawler. Right on cue he ported back into her line of vision and she took off running after him.

The little boy was obviously enjoying the chase. He would let her get fairly close before porting away again. Then all of a sudden he ported outside the makeshift pen. His grin was big and mischievous. Wanda groaned and climbed over the fence. Kurt took off again and turned around to stick his tongue at her before teleporting. He came back in and before Wanda could cry out for him to stop, he ran full toddler speed smack into a tree.

He sat there stunned for a moment, until he noticed the fine line of dark red trickling down his forehead. He started panicking and bawling.

"Oh no!" Wanda ran to where he sat and picked him up, checking for injuries. "Shh, it's okay, you'll be alright, baby. Oh you poor little thing..." She rubbed his back gently as she carried him back to the makeshift campsite.

Lance, hearing the cries, abandoned his effort to catch Tabitha and Marie and rushed over. "What happened?"

"He ran into a tree, saw that he cut his head and started screaming." Wanda said helplessly. She juggled the toddler's weight and rubbed his back.

Lorna emerged from the tent and gasped before running over. "Poor baby." She cooed. She reached out and took him from Wanda. As she inspected the cut she smiled at Kurt. "Did that nasty tree hit you?" She asked in a baby voice.

Kurt nodded. "Beeding." He murmured. She glanced at the cut. "Don't worry, you'll be as good as new with a nice band-aid." She assured him.

"Wanda, could you run over there and grab my bag?" She gestured. "I have a first aid kit in there."

Wanda nodded and did as requested. She handed over the bag and Lorna balanced Kurt on her knee. "Okay sweetie, would you like a dinosaur?" She held up a red bandage with a yellow T-rex on it.

Kurt nodded and she smiled. "Okay, I need to clean it out, alright? This will be cold but don't worry, it will make sure the cut heals." She dabbed a peroxide soaked cotton ball to his forehead and he let out a fresh howl. "Shhh, it's okay." She said softly. She stuck the bandage to his forehead. "All better."

He sniffled in wonder as she picked him up and started walking to the boys tent to put him to bed for the night.

Lance watched Piotr haul Remy and Scott over. He was gently yet forcefully steering them by the collars of their pajamas. Both were struggling fiercely and Remy was saying some things in French that Lance was sure he didn't even want translated.

"Thanks Piotr." Lance grinned.

The Russian shrugged. "It is nothink. I grew up on a farm,comerades. Catching small boys is rather like catching the sheep to sheer them in the spring when the dogs cannot keep them all in line."

Lance and Wanda blinked, not understanding the analogy. Piotr shrugged and brought the two struggling eldest mini-mutants into the tent.

"Right. back to the girls." Lance sighed.

"Would it be so wrong to pull a tranq gun on them?" Wanda asked in a would be casual tone.

"As tempting as it is to answer that, I'm not going to dignify that with a response." Lance said wearily. "How'd I get stuck with those two anyway?"

"Lance you're a nice guy. And those two both know it." Wanda rolled her eyes. "Now seriously, I have connections. Give me half an hour, I'll get plenty of tranq. darts. They'll be out for hours. Think about it." She winked.

"Don't tempt me, please don't tempt me..." He pleaded. "I'll just have to do it the hard way."

"Come on, I'll help." Wanda coaxed. "It's just them. We get them to sleep, and then we can turn our in for the night too."

The two broke into a jog as three small blurs raced by. Suddenly the red headed boy took a flying leap, pinning Tabby to the floor as he scrambled to sit on her knees.

"Tabafa, you gots the right to maim siwent cuz an'fin' ya say will be useded gainst ya in a quarter lawn."

Lance laughed. "He's giving her the Miranda rights."

"I don't know whether to be impressed, amused, or highly disturbed." Wanda admitted.

Tabitha glared up at him. "Lemme up!"

"No! I'm the depardy! You bin a naughty sheila. Lance and Mamda says its bedtime. You runned way."

"Good work John." Lance called. "I can take care of it from here." He smiled. He lifted Tabitha from the ground. Pyro stood proudly. Then he bolted and caught Rogue by the gloved arm.

"Guess Ah gotta go ta bed too" She sighed.

Tabitha started howling. "Nononononononono No bed! No!" She struggled futilely in Lance's arms.

"Kween Marie, you aposta be a sample fo all us li'ler kids." Pyro shook a finger in Rogue's face.

Wanda chuckled and Lance handed her the fussing blond. He then lifted the young Australian boy up onto his shoulders. "Thanks for being my deputy, kiddo." He thanked the child.

"You weallwy tall." Pyro noted.

Lance chuckled and the group head to their respective tents. Two bed time stories and five potty runs later, everyone managed to fall asleep.

The next morning, Lance woke up to somebody babbling unintelligibly in his ear. It took his brain a few moments to register that it was a young child with an Australian accent who just happened to be sitting at Lance's side.

"Lance, wake wake! Time for up!"

Lance peeked at his watch. "John, it's six-thirty in the morning." Lance sighed warily. "Go back to sleep."

"No. It moring. You sayed Johnny get a funny hat taday." He pouted.

"Can't you just sleep a little more?" Lance asked hopefully.

"Peeeeease?" Pyro pleaded. "Want hat. An' gotsa go potty."

Lance groaned. "Can't Evan or Piotr take you?"

The young red-head shook his head. "Nope. I askeded 'em an' Evan sayed some bad words and hid under his piwow and Pee...Pie...Poto...Shiny man tolded me to come to you. Sides, you pwomiseded me hat."

Lance sighed and sat up. He looked warily around at the group of kids. A few of the other little boys were up too. Kurt was chewing on his tail, Freddy was sitting quietly up in his bedding watching Pyro harass Lance, and Bobby was babbling to a bleary eyed

baby toad. The only two still sleeping were the two oldest.

With more insistence from Pyro, Lance threw his blanket off and climbed to his feet. "I suppose I should bring you all inside. It got kind of cold last night didn't it?"

"Nope." Bobby shook his head.

"Wiar!" Pyro scowled. Lance noticed for the first time that the little boy had the blanket he'd been sleeping under wrapped around him.

"Ok guys. First thing first, go jump on Evan until he gets his lazy butt up. Then politely ask Piotr to get up."

"Weally we can?" Bobby tilted his head to the side.

"Have at him." Lance gestured. Bobby and Kurt were on their feet immediately and they rushed to Evan's bed side. Bobby took a flying leap and tackled the older boy.

"Getupgetupgetupgetupgetup!" He called loudly into Evan's ear.

"Alvers I hate you." Evan sat up scowling and rubbing his sore ribs.

Piotr rose on his own, chuckling slightly. "Good Mornink."

"Mornin' yeah, good? Check back in about three hours." Evan yawned.

"I hear ya, Daniels, really I do, but the kids are due for a bathroom break. Could you and Colossus pack the stuff and put it away?"

Evan sighed and Piotr shrugged. Lance smiled and then turned to the two sleeping boys.

"Hey there guys, time to get up." He said gently. "Scott, Remy, either of you need a bathroom trip?"

Scott rolled over and that was the only response.

"Remy, Scott, wake up." Lance said a little firmly.

"Need depardy Johnny?" Pyro asked eagerly.

"Just a minute." Lance sighed. "Scott Summers and Remy LeBeau please get up!"

"No!" Scott mumbled and pulled the blanket over his head. "I sweeping!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Okay runt." He nodded at Pyro. "Get them up."

"Bobby help?" The boy jumped up and down.

"Sure Bobby." Lance smirked. "Just don't jump on them."

"Aw you no fun." Bobby kicked at the ground before charging Scott shrieking. "Time for up! Getupgetupgetupgetup!" He pulled the blankets off his former team leader and then stopped short with a look of utmost disgust. He jumped back with a wrinkled nose. "I fink Scoot wetted his jammies!"

Lance groaned. "Why do you say that?"

"I did not!" Scott jumped from his bedding, scandalized. "He wies!"

"Then asplain the dark spot on your bwankie!" Bobby said shrewdly.

"That's from yesday!" Scott cried.

"Nuh-uh." Bobby shook his head.

"Yes-huh!" Scott scowled.

"Boys no fighting!" Lance barked. He rubbed his temples. "Look, we're all going up to the mansion so you can all get clean and go to the bathroom. Come on."

"Lance?" Pyro called. "How you know if peoples are dead?"

Lance's heart constricted and he rushed over to where Remy lay, indeed quite still.

"Oh God...Oh God, Remy?" He felt frantically for a pulse and squinted to see if the four-year-old was breathing.

He sighed heavily in relief when his fingers located a steady pulse and his eyes noticed the Cajun's chest rise slightly with each breath.

"He no wake up." Pyro shrugged. "Oy scream, Oy yelled. Oy tolded him nicely he had to be a big boy and get up. He no move even."

Lance shrugged. "He's just a deep sleeper I guess." He gently shook the boy.

"No tantie! Remy no wanna start pescoo." He mumbled.

"Remy! Remy wake up!" Lance called continuously. A large red-and-black eye sleepily peered half way open."

"Five mo' minutes?" He asked in a soft voice.

"C'mon! Gotta go potty!" Pyro begged, fidgeting around uncomfortably.

"You can take a nap later Remy." Lance assured him.

The Cajun rolled over and yawned. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, staring around drunk with sleepiness.

Lance helped the boy to his feet and picked up the littlest mutant. "Okay boys, first one up to the house gets to pick what we eat for breakfast."

The kids took off like a shot. Lance could never remember seeing Freddy run so fast in the entire few years he'd known him. Kurt wasn't porting, the tree incident of last night seemed fresh in his memory, but he was scampering along like a cat, on all fours. Bobby was moving fairly fast as well. Remy didn't seem to care too terribly much as he was stumbling and exhausted.

They got into the building and Lance set the boys into the bathroom one after the other and then led them to the kitchen. He was not expecting to find all the girls sitting at the table, dressed and apparently clean. They were eating what looked like McDonald's breakfast meals and Lorna was pouring them orange juice.

"Good morning." Lance said, looking confused.

"Shh." Lorna nodded over to Wanda who was sleeping at the table using her arms as a pillow. "She only just fell asleep. I hope you don't mind, I went to McDonalds about an hour ago and got breakfast."

"No that's great, thanks." Lance said appreciatively. "But, what's up with Wanda?"

"Morning boys!" Lorna smiled cheerily. "Are you hungry?" After they chorused their yesses, she set each one at a table or high chair seat and let them dig in.

She nodded for Lance to come away from the table, the earshot range for the little kids. "Marie had an episode last night. About an hour and a half after she went to sleep she started convulsing and screaming in her sleep. Wanda rushed to her side and her eyes were fierce and blue. That Carol girl took over her mind and body. She started swearing and saying some pretty horrible things. We managed to get her inside to the infirmary, where Warren had to sedate her. Wanda stayed there by the bedside all night. It was pretty scary."

Lance looked at Wanda with sadness in his gaze. "I wish I had known, it sounds terrifying."

"I'm amazed none of you guys woke up." Lorna said softly. "She was screaming pretty loudly. Said some pretty horrible stuff."

Lance frowned and looked at Wanda in sorrow. "Like what?"

"Lets just say it wasn't pretty." Lorna shook her head. "She had Wanda in tears by the time Warren managed to get her sedated."

"How'd he manage that, I thought a needle couldn't pierce her skin..." Lance looked worried.

"True," Lorna agreed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "Wanda managed to hold her still long enough for him to force a gas mask over her face. I think he used laughing gas or something. She struggled a bit but eventually she was out."

"Where is she now?" Lance demanded.

"In the infirmary. Warren's analyzing the situation and trying to come up with some way to help this but frankly, he's as stumped as me."

Lance rubbed his temple. "This mess just gets thicker and thicker." He looked to Wanda.

Lorna smiled apologetically and resumed pouring orange juice into sipi-cups. "I wish I could magically answer the problem. I figured it would be best to take the kids in here to avoid further confusion. Especially from that one." She subtly pointed to Remy, who was still blinking in a failing attempt to wake up. "They seem close. I don't want him getting confused. I mean, I don't know how to explain this to myself, let alone her four-year-old best friend."

Lance nodded in agreement. "I should go talk to the doctor, see if there's anything I can do. The other guys will be in soon, keep them down here."

"There's food. Daniels won't leave that alone." Wanda said groggily. Her blue eyes showed their owner's exhaustion at half mast and her short hair was everywhere. "I'm coming with you." She sat up, yawning.

"Wanda, I don't think that's a good idea." Lance furrowed his eyebrows. "You handled her last night."

"Yea and my powers are the only humane way to hold her in place to administer sedative." She pointed out, rubbing her eyes.

"Point noted." Lance rolled his eyes. "But what about you, Wanda, since we got responsible for twelve little kids, you have been going non-stop. You need a break."

"You've been on the same schedule." She snapped. "What about what you need Lance?"

"I slept last night." He said patiently. "You didn't."

"That's not the point." Wanda grumbled as she stood up. "I'm coming end of story."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Alright. Lorna, we'll be right back."

Lorna nodded with a mildly confused expression. She couldn't tell if these two were just like that by nature or what but he sure got protective when it came to her.

Lance got halfway to the infirmary before turning around. "Remy, are you sure you don't want to go eat breakfast?" He asked warily.

The little boy stared up at him with wide eyes. "Not wifout M'rie." He shrugged. "She need brefes too." He held out the Styrofoam tray with the remains of his pancakes and scrambled eggs. "See? Remy bring her his brefes. She no be hungry la'er." He rationalized.

Lance reached to ruffle Remy's hair. The four-year-old scowled and threw his hands over his head. "We talked bout dis afore. Y' don' touch Remy's hairs! Remy don' fink it be dat hard. What don' y' git boud it!"

Wanda laughed at Lance's expense and took the tray from the boy, telling him how thoughtful he was.

Lance shook his head. "Look, Marie isn't feeling good right now Remy. She might say something mean. I'm sure she doesn't want to hurt your feelings."

The demon-eyed child shook his head. "She be Remy's bestes' ami in de worl'. If she no feel bien, Remy gotta make sho' she be okay." He said solemnly.

Wanda exchanged a glance with Lance and took Remy's hand. "Come on, let's go see how Marie is doing right now."

Remy practically skipped to the infirmary with the two tired teens.

Lance entered the room, unsure what to expect. He could hardly contain his shock upon seeing Rogue's three-year-old body strapped to a bed against the wall with restraints holding her tiny body down. She looked up, a scowl in blue eyes.

"You know, you'll never get away with this. When this puny body comes out of this drug induced haze, I'll break these bonds. Nothing will stop me from going home after I break your neck, bitch." She growled at Wanda.

Lance's eyes widened at the language choice. It sounded so...wrong coming out of a three-year-old. Even a three-year-old Rogue.

"How dare you do this to me! Let me up!" She snapped.

Wanda examined her nails and determined she needed a fresh coat of black. "Well, until you give Marie back her body, I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Look here you gothic pain in the ass! Untie me right now or so help me God..."

"Ohh a blond is threatening me. I'm terrified." Wanda said in a bored monotone. Carol let off a string of swears and horrible phrases that would have made a sailor blush. The girl turned violent and started screaming, lunging at the others, and throwing a tantrum.

"I just wanna go home for God's sake! I didn't do anything to deserve this! I don't want to be stuck in this bratty baby body! LET ME GO!."

Remy climbed up onto the chair near her. "M'rie, what be wrong?" He asked in a small voice.

"MY NAME IS CAROL!" She spat at the boy. "And I'll tell you what's wrong! I don't want to be here! I don't want to sit around in this f-ing body listening to these f-ing losers worry about how to get the stupid little she-dog back. NOBODY CARES ABOUT ME, WHAT I WANT, WHAT I NEED DAMMIT! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THESE FREAKS! ESPECIALLY A BRAT WITH DEMON EYES!"

Remy jerked back like she'd slapped him. His dark eyes brimmed with tears and Wanda rushed to his side.

"Shhh, Remy, it's alright. That isn't your friend Marie. That's Carol."

The child looked at her miserably. "No, Marie doesn't like me no mo'." He said sadly. "That why she callin herself Carol. She don' wanna hafta be m' friend anymore. It be cuza m'eyes, y'know." He sighed. "Dis kinda fing alays happens. Nobody likes Remy's eyes."

"Oh Remy, it's not that, really." Lance said gently. The little boy looked crushed. "Carol took over Marie's mind. Marie would never be so mean to you. You're her best friend."

"Y' ain' lyin'?" Remy asked suspiciously.

"Of course not," Wanda said sharply as she held Rogue's body down with her powers. Warren was forcing a gas mask over the girls face. "Marie likes you for being you, and it doesn't matter what yours eyes look like. Not to any of us."

"Y' jus' sayin' dat t' make me feel better." Remy sighed. He watched in morbid fascination as the relaxant started working on the body of his friend. She struggled and her eyes dilated before she sighed and closed tear filled eyes

"I am dreadfully sorry." Warren looked concerned. "I didn't realize she was running out of sedative so soon. I went to go make some coffee and I never realized this would happen." He apologized.

"It's not your fault. That Carol is one vicious little she-dog." Wanda scowled at the sleeping body of Marie.

"Yo' aposta watch yo' mout'." Remy said softly.

"We cannot blame her for being rather cranky." Warren pointed out gently. "She's being restrained against her will in a place she has no desire to be in, as well as the fact that she's currently in the body of a three year old."

Wanda bit her lip. "Still, it's not like we want her here."

Warren sighed. "I have things under control, why don't you two go head down to breakfast?"

Wanda frowned. "I already ate."

"And I'm not hungry." Lance stated firmly. "Why did that Carol girl get such a strong control of Marie?"

"I can only estimate." Warren sighed. "My guess is that Marie is a very head strong three year old and somehow managed to remain in control of her mind while she was awake. When she fell asleep her mind was open and vulnerable to Ms. Danvers' attack."

Lance sighed and gently stroked Rogue's hair. "Poor girl. She must be so scared."

Dr. Worthington nodded.

"Do you think there's anyway to force Carol to let Marie back into control?"

"I would have thought that the sedative would have done that, but it doesn't seem there is a way to achieve that until Ms. Danvers actually wants to give up control."

Wanda and Lance both looked really disheartened.

"Look, you two need to go take care of the others. I will do all I can."

They nodded. "Do you need anything?" Wanda asked timidly.

"Breakfast would be wonderful." He smiled and a pink tinge raced across her cheeks.

"Alright." She smiled and ducked out of the room. Lance followed suit, shaking his head. Remy trailed Lance with one last sad look at Marie.

Lance was walking back to the kitchen, holding Remy's hand when the doorbell rang. With an irritated sigh, he and the four-year-old headed to the door. He opened it and found himself facing a disgruntled young lady who peered at him anxiously from the door step.

☺☺☺

**And as much as you know I hate leaving you on a cliff hanger... ok ok admittedly its a deliberate ploy to hold attention...but anyway, next chapter's gonna be really really big and this chapter would have been double the length had I done all of it, not to mention the fact that it woulda been twice the wait, so I hope you can forgive me. Also please do not think that the new rule makes me not want reviews, really I do and I promise I will reply to any signed review ASAP. That said, please read and review, thank you.**

**finis December 9th 2005**

♥**HH♥**


	20. INTRODUCING THE FORMERLY YOUNGER SISTER

**Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I have been so busy lately I'm amazed I've found time to sleep. I just finished my Girl Scout Gold Award project, and I'm the literary editor for our school literary arts magazine which needs to get finished ASAP, and not to mention this is my senior year so of course its packed with stuff. But now that I'm over most of the big lumps of stuff, I'll have more writing time in my schedule and I sincerely promise to try not to keep you guys waiting so long for the next update. Right now I wanna thank everyone who's been patiently waiting (and those who weren't quite so patient) for me to get my rear in gear and get this chapter up. Also tremendous thanks for everyone who's reviewed. You have no idea how inspiring it is to know that you guys genuinely want more.**

**Disclaimer- **If I ran the zoo, I'd have a pet tiger. If I ran the mile, I'd be in shape. If I ran Marvel comics then I could say I own the X-men and everything would be my way. But as is the only running I do is in gym class, so I don't have a tiger, I'm not in shape, and I don't own the X-men.

☺☺☺

Lance blinked at the young woman who stood anxiously on the door-step. "Can I help you?" He asked cautiously.

The girl sighed. "This de Xavier Institute?"

"Uh yeah." Lance nodded in surprise. Her accent was familiar only not, like he'd heard it a long time ago in a slightly different way. "But Professor Xavier isn't in right now so you'd either have to call him or check back in-"

"Look, take no offense but Ah don' really give two rats' tails bout yo' professor, alright? It ain't him I'm here to see. Got me a phone call that said the man Ah love more'n anythin' else in dis world is in a bit of a sticky situation and needs help. Now y' gonna be a darlin' an' invite me in or are all de only gen'lemen back where Ah come from?" She crossed her arms over her body and narrowed her eyes.

"Oh yeah, sorry, c'mon in." Lance grinned sheepishly as he remembered that he had been told a young lady would be arriving today. The doctor's fiancée, hopefully she could help Rogue with the Carol situation. She sauntered into the foyer like she owned the place, looking around with an impressed look on her face.

"Nice place y' got here." She said appreciatively. He smiled warmly at her.

"Well, it's home."

She nodded and continued observing her surroundings. "Dat Xavier man must be loaded. But at least it ain't all gaudy like some rich guys' houses."

Lance shrugged. "I can take your coat if you'd like." He offered politely. She turned around, slightly surprised by the question. Hesitantly she shifted the weight of her backpack and played with a button on the front of her floor length black trench coat. For the first time he noticed her outfit and was slightly surprised.

She was wearing an iridescent and glittery dark blue halter top and stylish blue jeans that he could see Kitty or any of the other mall-crawling X-girls wearing. In addition to that she had a black leather belt with what looked suspiciously like a ninja throwing star as a buckle and black combat boots. Her coppery auburn hair was short and somewhat wild, or at least the bit he could see from under the blue beret. She was younger looking than he had expected, and much less uptight than the fiancée he'd pictured the strict doctor having.

"Well...it is a little warm." She said slowly. "But Ah'll survive."

With that she gave him a little half smile and then looked him straight in the eyes. "Ok, I'm sorry if I came at a bad time or something, but the call Ah got was urgent and-"

"Oh that, yeah I know. We've been waiting for you. Come on, he's in the infirmary, right this way."

"How bad is it?" She asked, a sudden spike of fear penetrating her voice. "When Ah got that call...Ah'm worried bout him."

"Huh?" Lance blinked.

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

"I beg your pardon?" Lance said in confusion. "He hasn't got a problem. It's a girl we're worried about..."

A look of horror splashed across her face, seeping into her startlingly vivid blue-green eyes. "A girl?" She paled. "Oh no...you gotta be kidding me...you can't be serious...he didn't..."

Lance didn't have a chance to reply. Remy was growing bored with being ignored so he pulled on Lance's pant leg.

"Why we standin' 'round like dis? Lets go back t' M'rie." He pleaded. "Mebe she be betterer now."

"I don't think so." Lance sighed. "But you're more than welcome to run ahead and see."

"Y' too!" The small boy demanded. He stomped his small sneakered foot in emphasis.

"Oh mah Gosh..." The girl blinked and knelt to the toddler's eye level.

"What?" Lance asked in alarm.

"His eyes..." She breathed, staring transfixed.

"Oh, sorry...they're just like that, if they bother you I could have him put on an image inducer or sunglasses or something..." Lance suggested lamely.

"Doncha dare!" She sounded deeply offended. "Ther beautiful eyes. The point is that the only other mutant Ah ever seen with em is my...brother..." Her eyes widened. "Petit, can y' tell me how old y' are?"

Remy nodded somewhat shyly and held up four fingers. "Dis m'ny." He mumbled and peered up at her curiously.

"An' just what is yo' name, cher?"

"Remy." He smiled somewhat.

She staggered back and stared at Lance. "Why didn' anybody call home and say anything about this!"

"Well, we kinda hoped the problem would go away on its own, and when it didn't we really didn't know what to say..." Lance stammered, thoroughly lost.

"How could y' think dis would go 'way?" She said tersely with her hands on her hips. "Dis ain't somethin' like a pimple ou somethin' dis is serious! Why de hell din' my own brot'er even call t' tell me Ah'm an aunt!"

"Woah! Wait hold on!" Lance narrowed his eyes. "Brother?"

"Yes. Mah brother. Ah was told he was here."

"You aren't Betsy are you?" Lance asked with a frown.

The girl laughed briefly. "Do Ah look like a Betsy t' y'?" She asked.

"Then who exactly are you?" Lance asked, feeling confused.

"M' name is Angélique. Angélique Lebeau." She said slowly in a mildly exasparated tone.

"Any relation to Remy Lebeau?" His eyebrows shot up

She gave him an irritated look. "Oui. De fou boy's m' frere."

"Remy's your brother?" Lance's eyebrows shot up all of a sudden he placed the accent and the whole thing made sense.

She crossed her arms insolently. "Look, All Ah know is Ah got a call sayin' he broke his arm. So Ah hop a train up Nort' t' find him, an' den dis lil boy is proof that the stupid lil...where de hell is he?"

"Um..." Lance gulped. "I really don't know how to tell you this...but he's um...kind of-"

"Scuze Remy ma'am, y' know my mere?" The four year old gently pulled on her pant leg. "Cuz y' look like her."

"What's yo' mere's name, sweetie." Angélique asked the little boy.

"Gabr'elle" Remy said in an affectionate tone.

Angélique stumbled back staring at Lance in shock. "What de livin' Hell happened t' my big brother!"

"Well uh there was this acci-WHAT?" Lance gaped.

"Gabrielle's my mother's name." The girl said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "De name, eyes, and him sayin' dat all add up t' one t'ing. An' Ah ain't exactly likin' what it means." She glared. "At first Ah thought mah brother went an' made 'imself a pére but when he say all dat stuff, it makes me wonder. If'n Ah'm right, an' dat really is m' Remy, den why is m' big brot'er fi'teen years younger den he should be?"  
Lance stammered for a moment, grasping for any story that would make more sense than the truth.

"Answer me!" She demanded. "Ah want the truth."

He sighed, deciding that he at least owed her that for her brother's sake. "Okay, there was an accident. This guy named Forge, he built a time machine and your brother was in the test group." He hesitated, making sure the girl was still following and she was. "Well, the testers were assured it worked and were going to go back fifteen years. And well...they did." He looked helplessly at Remy who was itching the cast on his arm.

The girl blinked. She looked at the little boy and back at Lance. "Can dis Forge homme fix dis?"

Lance shrugged. "We think so. He's working on it now."

She looked back at her brother and sighed. "Well, Ah s'pose it could be worse. At least Ah ain't an aunt." She shrugged and knelt back down to get a glimpse of the boy her big brother had been years ago. "Hey dere petit, y' jus' as cute as a button y' know dat?" She tickled him under his chin and he giggled.

Lance blanched, having expected a different reaction entirely. "You're taking that better than I expected."

The girl shrugged one shoulder. "Ah've seen weirder." Lance gave her a strange look. "What?" She asked. "Y' try growin' up in a city of voodoo. After growin' up wit' tales of zombies, werewolves, ghosts, magic an' de like y' wouldn't be phased eit'er."

Remy stared at her curiously. "Y' didn' answer de kestion." He pointed out. "Why y' look like m' mére?"

She smiled. "Well Remy, Ah'm yo' soeur."

"Non." Remy shook his head. "Remy no gots a big soeur. Just a baby one."

She smiled again and tickled him under the chin. "Very right, petit." She paused. "Let's jus' say we be distantly related." He nodded in pretend understanding. "M' name is Angélique. Y' could call me Angie if it be easier."

"Dat Remy's petite soeur name!" He chirped.

"So it is." She laughed. She examined him and gently reached for his arm. "Oh Remy, what'd y' do t' y' arm?" She cooed. "Did y' get hurt?"

He nodded and displayed his cast. "Was cimbin' de wall fo' de pen an' Tabifa maked it shake an' Remy falled down and de arm go crack an' Lance taked Remy t' doctor. An' dey wrapped it up in de cast an' it got all hard an' itchy." He explained.

She nodded sympathetically. "Ah broke m' arm when Ah was ten. It wasn't fun but at least you get to keep the cast. Are y' gonna get y' friends to sign it?" Angélique asked.

"Dey kin do dat?" Remy's eyes widened.

"Sho' dey kin, cher." Her eyes sparkled with mirth.

Remy paused for a moment. "Don' fink dey know how t' write words." He frowned and she laughed and reached to ruffle his hair.

"Don'!" He whined and swatted her hand away, huffing in frustration.

Angélique raised an eyebrow and Lance chuckled. "He's pretty sensitive about that. He gets really irritated when anybody plays with his hair."

She laughed. "Dieu, already obsessed wit' his looks an' he ain' even hit kindergarten yet. Shouldn' come as a surprise, though. When we was growin' up he spent more time admirin' his reflection den me an' de ot'er filles in de manor spent on our hair and makeup in de mornin'."

Lance looked amused. "So he's always been self-absorbed, then."

"Oui." The girl said good humouredly. She smiled at the boy who scowled with affection in her gaze. "What'll we do wit' y' petit?"

The little boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Tantie Mattie say she gonna need to use her rolly pin on Remy sometimes." His eyes sparkled mischievously. "Cuz he don' behave all de time."

Angélique laughed. "Ah can believe it. Y' always been trouble."

Remy shrugged and nodded in agreement. A moment passed and Angélique bit her lip before gently reaching for her brother's arm. "Can Ah have a look at yo' cast petit?"

He nodded and apprehensively extended his broken arm. She ran a finger down the cast and pondered.

"How bad was the break?" She addressed Lance.

"It's broken in three places and a hairline fracture in the fourth." Lance sighed. "He landed pretty hard on it."

Angélique nodded and bit her lip again. She seemed to be having an internal struggle with herself before she nodded again. "Remy, does it hurt?"

He shook his head rapidly. "Non, Remy a big boy. Big boy's don't git hurted."

She smiled knowingly and experimentally nudged his arm backwards. Tears filled the boy's eyes but he refused to let them fall.

"Kay, mebe it hurt a lil teeny bit." He conceded. She nodded.

"If Ah told you Ah could make it better, would you let me?" She asked him softly.

He stared at her, the question unspoken in his trusting face. He nodded uncertainly and she smiled gently. She closed her eyes and held onto his arm. Lance watched cautiously, slightly alarmed as her arms began glowing faintly and a rippling wave of blue light passed down her arm, through her elegant hand, and from her long fingers, washing slowly over the little boy's arm. He looked both intrigued and terrified at once as he watched the dim light spill over his arm.

He cried out in alarm as the girl's eyes clenched shut tighter and she pulled away, breathing heavily.

Lance looked at her uneasily. "Are you okay?"

She massaged her temples and shrugged. "Ah'll be alright. It's a li'l drainin' t' use m' powers too much."

Remy was staring at his arm, amazed. "It don't hurt no mo'."

"You're a healer." Lance was impressed.

"Mhm." Angie nodded and sighed. "Not in the conventional sense but ya, Ah guess ya could call it that."

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you look really weak." Lance asked in concern.

"Ah'll be fine." She assured him. "Healing takes a lot outta a gal, dats all." She smiled shrewdly. "By de way, Ah don' think Ah caught yo' name." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh. I'm Lance. Lance Alvers." He extended a hand which she shook firmly.

Suddenly Wanda appeared in the entrance hall carrying a tray of breakfast food, likely for the doctor. She paused and gave the new girl a quick once-over.

"This is his fiancée?" She asked Lance in slight amazement. He shook his head.

"No, actually this is-"

"M' name's Angélique." The girl spoke up for herself. "Angélique Lebeau."

Wanda raised her eyebrows. "Lebeau as in-"

"Oui. Remy's m' big brot'er." She cut in. "Ou...at least...'e _was_ m' big brot'er." She looked down at the little boy.

"Wanda!" He exclaimed. "Take Remy t' go see M'rie s'il vous plais?" He begged. "Lance an' miss Angie on'y standin' round an' talkin'. Wanna see if she be all be'r." He widened his eyes.

Wanda's amused smile slipped slightly. "Oh, Remy, I don't know if that's a good idea, sweetie."

"Why not?" He tilted his head to the side. "Remy bets it be scary in her head wit' dat mean lady takin' over. Mebe she want de comp'ny."

"Remy, I just don't want to see you sad if Carol yells at you again."

Remy looked at her with eyes full of tears. "But M'rie's m' bestest amie! An' she gotsa git yelled at by Car'l all by herself an' dat no right."

Angélique looked questioningly at Wanda and Lance.

"Marie's a little girl he gets along with really well here." Lance explained. "She was one of the test group for the experiment too. She had an accident with her powers and well, its a hard situation to explain but the personality she absorbed is fighting for control of her body. And the twenty-something-year-old doesn't much like him."

The girl blinked in mild shock. "Wait so if I understand what you are saying, there's a four-year-old girl suffering from MPD (1) here?"

"Basically." Wanda sighed. "She's already from a troubled childhood and a screwed up family situation and now she isn't even in control of her own body."

"Poor thing." Angélique brought a hand to her mouth in horror.

"Please kin we go?" Remy begged again. "She might be okay by now!"

"He's optimistic, I'll give him that." Lance smiled ruefully. "Less than half an hour ago Carol was practically murderous and he was pretty torn about it."

"Woudn' call dat optimistic." Angélique snickered. "Mo' like stubborn. Dis fille must be somethin' pretty darn special."

Remy crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes again.

"Ok Ok we're coming." Lance rolled his eyes.

Remy clapped his hands gleefully and turned toward the infirmary but stopped. He beckoned for Wanda to kneel down to his level and he whispered in her ear, looking a little embarrassed.

"Awwww, that's sweet. I'm sure she'd love that, Remy."

Lance and Angélique looked at her expectantly. "He wants to bring flowers to help Marie feel better and he wanted to know if we have any."

Remy grinned sheepishly and kicked his toe at the floor a little, decidedly not looking at Lance or his now older sister.

Lance smiled. "I think we could find something."

Wanda gently pushed the tray into Lance's hands. "Here, you bring this to Warren and I'll help him with that."

"Ah'll go with y' two." Angélique piped in. She grabbed her brother's hand and Wanda nodded before leading the way onto the grounds.

She figured Storm wouldn't mind Remy taking one flower for a sweet cause so she led the way to the greenhouse and told Remy he could pick any flower he liked. Angélique released his hand and he wandered the greenhouse staring at the many exotic flowers. He paused briefly at the base of Storm's prize winning rosebushes but it was only to wipe his nose, which had started running, on his sleeve.

"D' y' know what y' lookin' fo', petit?" Angélique asked him with a smile.

He bit his lip and nodded. "A perfec' fleur." He said seriously. "Don' wanna give M'rie a yucky one. She should get special one cuz she be special."

His sister cooed about how cute that was and reached a hand down but he threw his arms protectively over his head so she just rested it on his shoulder. "Don' y' like any o' dese pretty fleurs, Remy?"

He shook his head slowly. "Non really. Dey smell like Tantie's stinky cleany stuff an' pope-perty."

Angélique laughed at his comment. "Do dey now?"

The four-year-old nodded. "Ain't givin' M'rie a stinky fleur." He continued to look around. He was impressed by some large sunflowers but that was mostly because they were taller than he was. He sneezed and wiped his nose before rubbing at his eyes. He wandered the greenhouse aimlessly, obviously not finding what he wanted to. "M'be Remy shouldn't eben bot'er." He said sadly.

"I think Marie would be happy just to see you and not have Carol harassing her." Wanda smiled at him.

He sighed. "Guess so. But it'd be nice if Remy gived her s'methin' to make her feel better." He looked at the ground and went to the door.

"Aw petit, sounds like she really need a friend de most." Angélique took his hand, smiling warmly at the boy. His sullen tone was nearly heartbreaking.

Remy shrugged one shoulder and didn't look up. Wanda frowned slighty before heading back to the institute. Remy's idea had been a sweet one and she felt bad he hadn't

been successful.

All of a sudden he tore away from the two teenage girls and bolted across the yard. Wanda started running after him, calling his name. He dropped to his knees and stared in wonder at something on the lawn.

"What is it?" Wanda asked him apprehensively, half expecting the boy to be in such awe over something like a snake or a bug of some variety.

To her surprise (and apparently Angélique's as well) he was gazing appreciatively at a solitary dandelion peeking out of the grass. His eyes shone with wonder and he stared at it, daring it to vanish. With the utmost care he gently plucked it from the ground and held it gingerly, as one would hold a glass rose.

"Dis be M'rie's fleur." He stated with a nod. "It prefect."

Wanda glanced over to Angélique and then both girls laughed. Remy scowled.

"Y' no like it?" He asked in a tone somewhere between resent and regret.

"Non, petit, s'de mos' beautiful flower here." Angélique assured him. "Ah'm sure y' friend will love it."

Remy beamed with pride and held his prized flower like it was the holy grail as the trio headed back into the mansion.

Wanda led the way to the infirmary and Remy was practically skipping as he made his way to see his friend. At the door Wanda turned and knelt to Remy's level.

"Now you must not be upset if Carol says anything mean. It would break Marie's heart if she thought she upset you. Is that clear?" She asked him softly.

"Oui ma'am." He nodded. "But Marie won' say nothin' bad t' Remy. We be friends."

Wanda sighed. The four-year-old clearly did not fully understand the Carol situation. Mind, she was almost eighteen and she didn't really get it so that was understandable.

"What exactly is goin' on here anyway?" Angélique asked irritably. "Dis Carol sounds pretty dangerous and mean. Isn't dere some way to put Remy's friend right?"

"We have somebody coming over sometime today to tell us exactly that." Wanda said grimly. "That's why we thought you might be Betsy. All we knew was that she's the doctor's pretty young fiancée who might be able to fix Marie with her mental powers."

"Might?"

"We really, really hope she can." Wanda sighed. "But nobody's ever really understood how Marie's powers work, exactly. All we have are vague ideas to work with. This is the first time the personality has been so strong and hasn't faded."

Angélique nodded and bit her lip, hopeful for her brother's sake, as Wanda opened the door to the infirmary. Remy burst into the room, glowing with hope.

Lance was in there chatting idly with Dr. Worthington about the charts of both Rogue and Carol. He didn't understand much about the technical jargon but he could tell that the news wasn't sounding positive.

When Remy entered, Lance sighed. Marie/Carol was still under the influence of the sedative and hadn't woken up yet. "Hey there buddy, any luck?"

Remy beamed and nodded. He proudly displayed his flower for the older boy to see. "Lookit."

Lance struggled to contain a laugh.

"What do you have there?" Dr. Worthington smiled at the young boy who moved quickly to his friend's bedside.

"Fleur fo' M'rie." The boy shrugged. "She waked up yet?"

The doctor shook his head in regret. "I'm sorry but she hasn't."

Remy looked disappointed. He took the little girl's hand gently as Wanda and his formerly younger sister came into the infirmary. "Please git better M'rie." He pleaded. "Remy bringed y' a fleur an' ever'fin'."

He sighed and let go of her hand and turned to climb down. But just then the three-year-old sighed in her forced sleep and her eyelids fluttered open. Lance rushed close, in case Carol lunged or grew violent. To the shock of him and everyone else, the eyes were big and green as opposed to narrowed and blue. Marie looked dazed and disoriented as she looked around.

"Remy?" She asked in a small weak voice as her eyes focused on him. "What's goin' on?"

"M'rie!" He exclaimed, scurrying close. "Y' waked up!"

She nodded. "Why's the room all spinny?" She asked groggily.

Lance looked at Warren, alarmed. "Relax." the doctor said in a calm tone. "It's a side effect of the seditive, she'll be fine in a few mintues. Now if you will excuse me, nature calls." He left the room quickly.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?" Wanda asked the little girl in a coo.

"Ma head feels gooey." Rogue frowned, uncertain of how to explain how she felt.

Remy's eyes gleamed in joy at seeing her awake. "Remy bringed y' a fleur." He stated proudly as he showed her the little yellow flower shyly. "Y' like?"

She admired the flower and her eyes lit up. "It be real perty." She reached for it. "Fank ya Remy." She grinned, smelling the dandelion.

His cheeks colored pink and he looked mighty pleased with himself. "Yo' welcome M'rie." He smiled. "Y' feel better?"

She nodded. "Uh huh."

Angélique laughed at the sight. "Ain' dat de sweetes' thin' in de world?"

"Yeah." Wanda agreed. "Though he'd be nursing a broken jaw if he'd said that to her when she was all grown up." She chuckled.

"If he was lucky and she was in a good mood, you mean." Lance corrected. "He'd most likely have been comatose at best."

Remy's sister blinked. "Did he like her then, or is this a new development?"

Lance smiled. "Oh they've always liked each other. It's just she hides it better when she isn't a toddler."

Angélique's looked surprised "How long did this go on? Like a week?"

"Nope. Actually it was about a year." Wanda commented idly. "He practically worshipped her."

The other girl's jaw dropped. "We talkin' bout de same Remy?" The two others nodded. "Was it jus' t' sleep t'get'er or did 'e really like her?"

Lance's cheeks colored slightly at the bluntness of the girl's comment. Wanda rolled her eyes and spoke up. "Actually they never were together like that. Her powers wouldn't have allowed anything to happen." She continued after Angélique gave her a blank look. "Her skin is toxic. Any time she touches somebody with her bare skin she absorbs part of their personality, memories, and physical ability."

Angélique looked horrified. "Poor lil fille! She can' even control it when she be eighteen ou nineteen?"

Lance shook his head. "Nope."

The doctor reentered the room and was pleased to see that Marie was awake. He moved over to her and located her pulse and noted that her stats seemed almost normal again.

"Alright, Marie, you look much better. How do you feel?"

"A'right." She mumbled with a small smile. "Remy bringed me a flow'r."

"Wasn't that sweet of him?" The doctor smiled.

Marie beamed at her best friend and nodded. "'S a perty flower. 'M hungry, can Ah git brefess?" She asked politely.

"Oh!" Remy remembered the tray he'd saved for her. "Remy got some for you."

The doctor smiled and retrieved the tray from the counter he'd set it on. "Here you go, sweetheart."

Marie's large green eyes widened in appreciation of the scambled eggs and half a pancake. "It looks yummy." She gingerly took it and started eating.

Lance chuckled before turning to Dr. Worthington. "I thought you said Carol wouldn't release her hold until she wanted to."

Warren nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin. "It would appear that I was wrong. Maybe the sedative weakened Ms. Danver's hold on the child, or maybe Marie forced her way forward. This is a strange situation, in every aspect though." He paused. "I have never heard of this in grown up mutants, let alone a three year old. On that matter, I don't suppose I have ever witnessed a fully active mutant toddler." He frowned. "Usually the X gene becomes active during puberty, though I suppose there are exceptions."

Lance gulped and nodded mutely. Dr. Worthington frowned at Angélique. "I don't believe we've been introduced." He said politely.

"M' name's Angélique." She took his proffered hand and shook it firmly. "Angie's fine if its easier. 'M related t' dat un." She nodded at Remy who was babbling happily with Marie.

"Pleased to meet you." Warren nodded. He looked at the toddlers. "That boy is so sweet with little Marie. It is adorable to see how much he cares for her."

Angie nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "He's always been a sweetheart, but she bring out de best in him."

Warren smiled. "Hopefully when my fiancée gets here she can help sort poor Marie and Carol out."

Lance spoke up. "Do you know when she'll get here?"

The doctor shook his head. "She'll get here as soon as she can, but there's no telling when that will be. It could be anytime between now and an a couple hours from now."

Wanda nodded anxiously. "Do you think Carol could take control again?"

The doctor frowned. "I really don't know. As long as Marie is conscious and aware I doubt it but nothing is certain at this point."

Wanda bit her lip. "I guess not. Well, thank you for your help so far." She looked quickly at the monitor attached to Carol. "How's she doing?" She asked quietly.

The doctor sighed. "It's not looking good. There haven't been any changes in her state at all. She's still comatose and by all signs just barely existing. She has a consistent pulse and she's breathing, but aside from that, nothing."

Wanda sighed and glanced at Marie. The little girl was telling Remy about the little place in her mind Carol had shut her up into. It was so sad to see her suffering from this problem she couldn't even control. Wanda knew that even the grown up Rogue would not have had an easy time with this problem but it was amplified to be so much worse by the fact that Marie didn't understand what was going on at all.

Angie studied the toddlers with a soft smile. The situation was most definitely sad but Remy continued holding his friend's hand and talking with her as if she had only been down to take a short nap.

"Have you lot had breakfast yet?" Warren asked suddenly.

Lance and Wanda shook their heads.

"Why not?"

"I came straight in here after giving the boys a bathroom break and I was told that Marie had an episode." Lance explained.

Wanda shrugged. "I was up with Marie-Carol- all night and I eventually just passed out at the breakfast table." She looked away, her cheeks crimson with embarrassment.

"Gimme a break." Angie shrugged. "Ah had ta take the train here from N'Awlins when they called ta tell me bout Remy's arm. Only thing Ah ate since then was a lil packet of skittles Ah had in m' purse."

The doctor looked concerned. "Breakfast is a very important meal, and I daresay with this bunch of children keeping your energy up is a high priority."

"Yeah...well..." Wanda looked around at Lance helplessly.

"I recommend that all three of you head down to the kitchen and eat something. Also, I want all of you to try to get some rest. You especially Wanda." He spoke sternly. "You had a rough night with Carol and she wore you down pretty badly. As for you, Angie," He frowned, "You've been traveling non-stop for a long time and could probably use a decent meal and a long nap."

Angélique was about to protest but she was silenced by an insistent rumble from her own stomach. She shrugged in embarrassment. "Ah guess Ah could."

The doctor nodded. "Good girl. Now then, Lance, Wanda, if the two of you would be so kind as to join her in the kitchen for breakfast?"

Wanda scowled but Lance sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, c'mon Angie, Wanda, Remy. Let's go."

"Non." Remy shook his head. "Remy stay."

Lance groaned. "C'mon Remy, let's just leave the doctor be."

The little boy held his ground. "Non. M'rie no go, Remy no go."

The doctor smiled at the four-year-old. "She'll be fine, I promise, Remy."

Remy gave Warren a dirty look and stuck his tongue out.

Angélique laughed and moved over to her brother. "C'mon petit, y' don' wanna be trouble fo' the nice doctor do y'?"

"Oui." Remy said cheekily.

"Y' li'l imp." She chuckled and lifted him off the bed. "Let's go git y' fed."

"A'ready eated." He shook his head.

"Please come wit' us?" Angie tried smiling at him, widening her eyes and pouting irresistably for her brother.

He hesitated and looked trapped. His exotic eyes darted wildly about and he bit his lip. Angélique, knowing her brother's weakness and knowing she had nearly won this battle, threw out one more lure.

"I'll give you a piggy back ride downstairs." Angélique had heard many stories about how she and Remy behaved as toddlers growing up, and Remy had always, always loved piggyback rides. They had made the little boy feel big and tall and he loved it.

Remy's eyes lit up, all sentiment of the argument forgotten. He stood up to his tallest height, with his arms outstretched.

His sister laughed and scooped him up after setting her backpack and purse on the floor. She held him close and kissed his forehead while he made a disgusted expression. Then she swung him up onto her back. He cried out with childish joy and laughed, hanging onto her shoulders tightly. He kept laughing until he peeked his head over Angélique's shoulder and caught a glimpse of his bestest friend in the world, looking sadly at her knees and fiddling absently with the hem of her blanket.

His smile fell and he turned his head to Lance sadly. "She gotsa stay?"

Lance sighed. "Yeah. She needs to be near the doctor incase anything happens."

Remy frowned. "Not fair."

The little girl smiled brightly. "S'ok Remy. Ah'll be fine."

Doctor Worthington smiled and shook his head. "Remy, would you like for Marie to go with you?" Remy nodded his head, mutely. "And Marie, do you want to go with your friend?" The little girl nodded her head shyly. "Then by all means you should go."

Lance and Wanda stared at him, mildly shocked. "But...I thought..." Lance started, looking confused.

"It appears that in her fully wakened state, Marie is able to force Ms. Danvers to the back of her mind." Warren explained. "And I cannot do much without the aid of Betsy so I see no real reason why the poor girl should be kept cooped up in here with nobody her own age to have fun with. You may as well take her with you, but bring her back if you have any indication of trouble."

Marie beamed and stood up. She raised her arms expectantly and Lance laughed before picking her up and settling her on his shoulders.

"Take care not to drop them." Warren said sternly and Angie and Lance nodded. Angélique reached to grab her backpack but Wanda beat her to it.

"Ah can get that y' know." Angie smiled.

"I know." Wanda nodded. "But you've got the kid. I don't mind carrying your stuff downstairs."

"Y' sure?" Angie asked. "Ah could grab it without a problem."

Wanda shook her head. "I've got it. It makes me feel less guilty about not having one of the monkeys on my back."

Angie laughed and nodded. "Alright. Thanks."

The group headed down the kitchen, Marie and Remy having the time of their lives.

"So you're Remy's sister, huh?" Wanda asked conversationally.

"Oui." Angie nodded. "He was m' bes' friend growin' up."

"Oh." She frowned. "He never mentioned he had a sister."

She bit her lip hesitantly.

"Come to think of it, he's always been closed mouthed about his whole family." Lance commented idly.

Angie sighed. "He prolly thought talkin' bout de family would lead t' a few awkward questions."

"Like why you guys banished him?" Wanda asked curiously.

Angélique's eyes widened before hardening. "Yea, dat'd be part of it." She could see the question on Wanda's lips and shook her head violently. "No Ah won't tell ya why that was or anything else fo' dat matter. Dat's m' brot'er's business." She said firmly. "An' he can tell ya when he's ready."

Wanda and Lance blinked and nodded. A tense beat of silence passed before Lance broke it.

"So are you and your brother the only mutants in your family?" He asked conversationally.

"Actually, m' brother's adopted." She commented evenly. "Ah'm the first of m' famille."

"You're a mutant?" Wanda asked, interested. "What do you do?"

Angie shrugged one shoulder. "Ah guess Ah'm kinda a healer, and Ah got this calmin' thing."

"Calming thing?" Lance asked.

"Well, it's like a lullabye or somethin'. Ah can't really explain it but Ah can relax people an' calm down emotion. Works on dogs too."

"Oh." Lance nodded, struggling to understand.

"What do you mean by kind of a healer?" Wanda raised an eyebrow.

Angie frowned. "Well, Ah don't just automatically make things better." She said slowly. She paused, thinking of how to word what she wanted to say. "Ah transfer some of m' own energy int' whoever Ah'm healin'. It doesn' heal 'em straight out, but it speeds up de nat'ral healin' process. Faster Ah wan' whoever t' heal, the more energy it takes.""I bet that would take a lot out of you." Wanda said sympathetically.

"Y' got no idea." Angie assured her. "But Ah ain't complainin'. Ah got me a hand tailored excuse to eat tons of junk food. Ah'll just use the energy up anyway. So there are perks."

Wanda laughed. "I'd bet. Me, I'd use any excuse I can get to eat whatever."

"What's your power?" Angie asked Wanda as casually as if she had asked her the weather.

Wanda frowned. "I'm chaos magic."

"What's that?" Angie was intrigued.

"I can control probabilities. When I get worked up I can make things happen that by all laws of nature and physics should not happen. Like people flying through windows or somebody's hair randomly lighting on fire."

"Woah, wicked!" Angélique looked thouroughly impressed. "But I bet that would be pretty draining."

Wanda nodded. "Yeah. It's tough physically, but emotionally exhausting. Little hard to control too."

Angie nodded sympathetically. "Mutant powers usually are."

"And then you get to deal with the bigotry." Lance added bitterly.

"Ah hear y'." Angie sighed. "M' brot'er's eyes al'ays gave him dead away. He never caught a break from anyone in our town. Dey t'ought m' parents were messin' round wit' some pretty pow'rful voodoo, dat Remy was de devil's son. He grew up wit' de nickname Diable Blanc."

"What's that mean?" Lance asked, recognizing it for French.

"Means white devil in French." Angie sighed. "Don' quiite understand why people be so hateful. Ain' like we asked to be born mutants."

Wanda nodded sympathetically. "My father's always said that people fear what they don't understand."

"Sounds like he's a pretty smart guy." Angie smiled.

"Sometimes." Lance grumbled. "Other times he can be an egotistical sonuva-"

"Shhhh!" Wanda snapped. "Not in front of those two!" She hissed, her crystalline blue eyes darting to Marie and Remy before settling furiously on Lance's.

Both Marie and Remy halted their conversation, interest peaked.

"Fine." Lance rolled his eyes. "He can be a jerk, better?"

"Much." Wanda nodded.

"So what do you guys want for breakfast?" Lance asked, changing the topic.

"Well, Ah ain't fussy. Ah'd be fine with whatever." Angie smiled wistfully. "Ah feel kinda bad stormin' in an' eatin' y'all outta house an' home."

Lance shrugged it off. "Hey it's no problem. We have enough food to feed several armies."

"Yeah, isn't there anything you'd like?"

Angie thought for a moment. "Y' know, it seems like s'been fo'ever since I had pancakes and syrup. If that's not too much trouble that is."

"Well, if you like McDonald's, you're in luck. We have a bunch of 'em already made downstairs."

A strange expression flittered across her face and he quickly continued. "But if not I could whip up some homemade ones real fast. It wouldn't be a problem."

Her bright eyes widened. "Oh no! There's definitely no need for that. I love McDonald's!" She said earnestly. "Ah loved eatin' their breakfasts when Ah was a pup. Its just been years since anyone even suggested it."

"You're not just saying that are you?" Lance frowned.

Angie closed her eyes. "Mmmm no." She sighed happily. "Fast food- it's a gift from Heaven."

Wanda nodded and Lance grinned. "Well we have plenty. Here's the kitchen." He paused to lift Rogue off his shoulders. Angie swung Remy from her back to the floor and snatched up his hand in one fluid movement.

They entered and Angélique's jaw dropped. "Dieu! Dis Xavier guy loaded ou what?"

"Yeah." Lance nodded. "But he doesn't really flaunt it much, other than the mansion. It's really only this big to accommodate all of the kids in the school."

Angie nodded. "How many is that?"

"Well, a few days ago it was twenty-four teenaged mutants and 4 teachers." Lance sighed. "As of right now, we've got twelve toddlers, and four of the original team."

"Five if you count Pietro." Wanda added. "But God only knows where my idiot brother took off to." She grumbled under her breath.

"Woah, dat's it? An' y'all are tryin' t' take care of twelve li'l ones?" Angie was thunderstruck.

"Well Dr. Worthington is here, and Lorna too, but basically that's it."

"Lorna?" Angie raised an eyebrow.

"That'd be me." Lorna greeted them with a smile. "Lorna Dane, nurse in training." She extended a hand.

"Angélique Lebeau. Nice t' meet y'." Angie nodded and shook the proffered hand.

"And you." Lorna nodded sincerely. "Anything I can help you lot with?"

"Is there any breakfast left?" Lance asked sheepishly.

Lorna chuckled. "Plenty." She gestured to the counter. "Help yourselves. I'll get Marie and Remy set and I'll join you soon." She took the two youngsters by the hand and helped them into highchairs. She gave each of them a tray with some pancakes and sausage and a sipi-cup of orange juice before grabbing her own breakfast and sliding into the chair next to Wanda.

"So where'd everyone take off to?" Wanda asked curiously.

"Well, all the little ones finished eating and Piotr and Evan decided to put on a movie or something for them in the Danger Room." Lorna answered. "So what's the status on the Carol/Marie situation? I notice the latter is well enough to join us again."

"Carol's still unconscious: no changes with her. And Marie is in control of her body again so that looks good. Other than that we have no idea about anything." Wanda said in mock cheer.

Lorna frowned. "I hope Miss Braddock can help with that when she gets here."

"That would be nice." Lance sighed.

"Wow, y'all really got yo' hands full doncha?" Angie asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. It's been a pretty tough few days." Lance admitted. "It wasn't so bad when we had all the others, but with just the four of us and the help of a few outside sources like the doctor, Lorna and the girlfriend of one of the kids who is now a toddler...we're all run a little ragged." He sighed and shrugged before turning to Wanda. "Speaking of Amanda, where is she anyway?"

Wanda clapped her hand to her forehead. "Oh man, I'm sorry Lance. I forgot to tell you-she went home after the pool incident. She figured there wasn't much she could do to help and her parents wanted her home so she left after she helped us round up all the kids and get them back here."

"Oh." Lance nodded.

"Well Ah could stay fo' a while, if it'd help." Angélique offered. "Ah only came up ta be sure that Remy was alright but nobody'll miss me back home."

Lance looked at her inquisitively. "Why not? Isn't Louisana a long way away?"

She fidgeted nervously. "Actually...they don' know Ah came ta see m' brot'er. They'd be furious if they knew dat. Ah kinda took off under the pretense dat Ah'm doin' an errand fo' m' pére an' spendin' a bit of time in NYC shoppin' and stuff like that. But what they don' know, won' hurt me."

Everyone looked at her uneasily. "Hey, it ain' a lie. Ah'll pick up what m' fat'er wants, and do a little shoppin' before Ah head home. It'll be wort' it t' spend time wit' m' brot'er an' evade work fo' a little while." She smirked. "Ah bin meanin' t' take a vacation fo' a long time."

"Well, if you're sure..." Lance started uneasily. "We'd love to have your help."

Angie nodded. "Okay den. Problem solved, non? Ah'll stay an' help ya with the li'l bits, which help y'all, an' spend time wit' m' brot'er, helpin' moi."

"Who's your brother?" Lorna asked curiously.

Angie blinked. "Dat li'l scamp." She grinned and pointed to Remy who was happily dunking a scrap of pancake into the little container of syrup. "Been a while since Ah seen the boy."

"Aw, I don't think I'd let him out of my sight very long if he was my brother." Lorna cooed. "He's just too adorable. Especially with how close he and little Marie are."

Angie glanced at the two toddlers and smiled as Rogue transferred one of her pancakes to Remy's plate and he thanked her. "Yeah, Ah dunno how Ah lived without the li'l guy so long. Almos' forgot how precious he is. And he certainly has taken a pretty pow'rful likin' t' de fille."

"Yeah." Lorna nodded. "Oh by the way, Lance, you're going to get an earful from the little redhead when you see the kids again." She added thoughtfully.

"Jean?" Lance raised his eyebrow.

Lorna shook her head. "No, not the girl, the little boy."

"Oh, John." Wanda supplied. "Why? What happened?"

Lorna shrugged. "He worked himself into quite a state about a hat or something."

Wanda and Angie looked at Lance curiously. He grinned sheepishly.

"I promised him a cool hat if he helped me last night. I guess I forgot about it in all the chaos with the Marie/Carol situation."

"Well, Pete, is that how you say the big guy's name, had to practically drag him down to the danger room to watch the movie. The kid was kicking and screaming and crying that he had to find you because you said you'd give him the hat."

Lance felt guilty instantly. "It's Piotr, and I did say I would get him the hat today. I should probably go take care of that as soon as we're done with breakfast."

"Do you even have a hat for the kid to wear?" Wanda asked skeptically.

"Er...no." Lance admitted. "But there's gotta be something around here that the little guy would like to wear as a hat. I mean, he's not exactly particular or anything."

Wanda bit her lip and thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. "I got it, do you think Jamie still has that fireman hat from when his class went on a trip to the firestation on career day?"

"That red plastic thing they gave him?" Lance thought hard. "I can't really see him throwing that away. But it would be locked in his room upstairs, wouldn't it?"

Wanda sighed. "Oh well, it was worth a shot, I guess."

"We could probably grab him a baseball cap. I don't think he'd mind." Lance said hesitantly. "But I'd feel bad because I said it would be a special hat."

"Yeah, then it probably should be."

"I could run to Burger King and grab a crown if you want." Lorna suggested.

Lance smiled. "I'd feel really bad making you go and get something like that. The nearest Burger King is about fifteen minutes away. We probably have something lying around here, but thanks for the offer."

"Ah kinda think the idea of the fireman hat is cute." Angie spoke up.

"Yeah, and he'd probably like that a lot, but unfortunately, Jamie, the kid who owns one, isn't home. He went to summer camp. And his bedroom is locked."

Angie smirked. "Y' gonna let a li'l ol' lock stop ya?"

"Uh...yeah?" Wanda was confused.

Remy's sister stared at them, stupefied. "Y' tellin' me dat this is a house chock full of teenage mutants an' y'all actually respect each ot'er's privacy enough to let somethin' silly like a lock keep ya out?"

Lance and Wanda nodded, confused.

Angie sighed. "Dieu, wish it was like that back at m' house. Woulda made growin' up de on'y fille in a house of boys un helluva lot easier." She smirked. "Woulda at least meant m' diary was private."

"Locks didn't even keep everyone out?" Wanda asked, surprised. "Didn't your parents have a problem with that?"

"Well..."Angie fidgeted. "M' father's de one who taught all de kids how t' pick de locks. He was proud of anybody who did it."

"And I thought your father was warped, Wanda." Lance blinked in shock.

Wanda gave him a disgusted look and Angie shrugged.

"The point is, if you wanted me to, I could get into this kid's room and get the hat. Nobody'd ever need know how."

Wanda smirked impishly but Lance had a few reservations. "It won't break his lock will it?"

"Course not." Angie waved it off. "Ah bin in an' outta m' brothers and cousins' rooms since Ah was barely six. Ah'm an old pro at it. Takes someone real clumsy to break the lock."

Lance nodded. "Okay I guess. But we can't mess the room up."

"Lance, he's a thirteen-year-old boy. His room is probably nuclear disaster area." Wanda pointed out. "I doubt he'd notice if we did anything save clean the pigstye."

Lance nodded again. "Okay, let's go take care of that now then. Marie, Remy, are you two done with breakfast?"

The toddlers looked up, surprised at being addressed. Remy drained the last of his orange juice and then nodded for the both of them. "Yeah." Marie said slowly.

"Where're all de ot'ers?" Remy asked curiously as he struggled to get the tray of his highchair off.

"Everyone else is downstairs watching a movie." Lorna smiled as she moved to the little boy's aid.

"Oh..." The boy thought for a moment. "Is that all anyone does round here? Seems like we bin watchin' TV an' movies since we all got here."

"Yeah, Ah wanna do somethin' fun." Marie commented.

"Like what?" Lance laughed as he liberated the three-year-old from her highchair.

"Ah dunno." Rogue shrugged as he lifted her onto his shoulders. "Somethin' that ain' the TV or the hopsital."

Wanda smiled at the toddler. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Marie shook her head. But Remy darted in with a reply as his sister hoisted him onto her back. "Y' gots a payground round here?"

Wanda glanced at Lance as the group started walking toward the stairs. She'd never paid any mind to stuff like that but maybe Lance, who she figured had already mentally constructed a nice house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a dog for himself and Kitty, had noticed things like children's play areas.

"The park we were at yesterday had a playground." Lance sighed. "But I don't want any more anti-mutant hysteria..."

Remy's eyes grew wide and round. "S'il vous plais?"

Marie joined in. "Pease? Pease Lance?"

Lance sighed. He had lost this battle and he knew it. "Oh fine. But Dr. Worthington's fiancée is coming over so we have to wait until she gets here and looks over you, Marie."

"We go later? Pomice?" She asked from atop his shoulders.

"I promise." Lance smiled.

"Li'l fille got y' wrapped tight aroun' her finger, ain't she?" Angie laughed. Wanda mimed cracking a whip, to which Lance rolled his eyes and didn't find himself able to retort. Suddenly Rogue was tapping his head gently.

"Ah gots a question." Marie sounded puzzled.

"What's wrong Marie?" Lance asked.

"Whats a fee...a fea...a feedansay?"

Wanda laughed. "Fiancée, Marie." She corrected gently. "It's what you call somebody your going to marry."

"Oh." The girl nodded. "What's marry mean?" She wrinkled her nose.

Lance and Wanda looked at each other helplessly. Remy replied to the question. "Fink it's like a really really long game of house a boy an' a girl play cuz they like each ot'er lots and do lotsa stuff toget'er all de time." He said sagely.

Angélique laughed. "Oui, dat's a good explanation petit. But it's a li'l more than that." She thought for a moment and realized she had no idea how to simplify it for toddlers. "It's two people who are the best of friends, and who would never try to hurt each other." Her eyes darkened slightly and she muttered under her breath. "At least, that's how it's supposed to be."

"Oh." Marie nodded, contemplating. "Remy an' me would never hurt eachother an' we do lotsa stuff toget'er. Are we feedancays?"

Lance, Wanda, and Angie all choked at that one. They were torn between the horror and the adorability of her asking that question. Lorna chose to reply. "Well, it doesn't work like that, sweetheart."

"Then how's it work?" Marie asked innocently.

"Well one of you has to ask for starters, and for another you're both way young to take on such a big commitment yet." She smiled. "And you should date for a long time first." She added hastily. "So you're not ready now, but who knows about later.

The little girl nodded like she understood. "Okay."

The group had stopped in front of a door. "This is it." Lance gestured to the door. "Do your stuff."

Angélique eased her brother down and inspected the lock. "Oh puh-lease, dat ain' even a tricky one." She removed a Bobby pin from her hair and set to work on the lock. Within the minute it clicked and she opened the door. "Nothin' to it."

Lance nodded, impressed. "Woah, thanks." He entered the room. "I'll get the hat."

The group waited for him and Rogue turned to Remy, not a pinch of shyness in her. "Remy, we're friends, right?" He nodded vigorously and smiled.

"Yo' Remy's bestest friend." He said shamelessly.

"Da ya wanna be m' feedancay?" She asked.

"Remy fink he'd like dat." Remy nodded, a little shyly. "Maybe when it be later we can git married."

"Yeah." She agreed. "An' b'sides, we aready knows each other an' we wouldn't hafta date a lot."

"Dat be a good fing." Remy assured her. "Remy no know what datin' means. An' we can't do that if we dunno what it is, can we?"

"Nuh uh." Rogue shook her head.

Just then Lance came out of Jamie's bedroom holding a red plastic fireman hat. "Got it." He grinned, locking the door behind him.

"Ok then. Let's go get it to John." Wanda spoke up.

"Good idea." Lorna agreed.

Angie nodded and hoisted Remy back onto her back and Lance set the hat on Marie's head for the time being and brought her up to his shoulders again.

The group headed back downstairs and as they passed the front door, they heard a loud, impatient knock.

☺☺☺

**And so ends chapter 20 of Back In Diapers. Hm...who could be at the mansion door? This seems like a nice stopping point for this chapter. I happen to like it very much and think it cute. Let me know what you think in your review.**

**In other news, I've been rereading this story and I have noticed a lot of rookie errors in it. How would you like me to revamp the story and do a second edition when this one is finished. It would be the same essential story with changes that would only improve the flow and mechanics of the fic. Of course I would leave this story up and not touch it (I rather like seeing my growth as an author) but I was wondering the general consensus. Would y'all read and review again this story with improvements? Or should I not waste my time? I would still work on my other things and it would just add into the cycle of my updates.**

**In any case, the next update is one of the three final chapters of 24 Hours and I do not expect it to take nearly so long as this particular chapter did. Thank you for reading this far, please review!**

**chapter 20 bid completed April 21, 2006**

♥**HH♥**


	21. PICKLE AND THE PENGUIN

**((waves sheepishly)) Hi guys! It's been a really really long time. And that is...entirely my fault. See, college is an incredibly wonderful thing and all, but it really doesn't leave ya with much free time. Seriously, I suppose I could have gotten more done if I cut into sleep and meal times, but ya kinda need that stuff to live and all that. Right now I'm home for Christmas break until the 20th of January and I plan to get A LOT of writing done between now and then. And my new years resolution is to get something posted at least every other week. Even if it's just a oneshot. But back to why this took sooooooo long, when I finally got the word "Freetime" back into my vocabulary, this chapter decided to be difficult and it's been fighting tooth and nail against getting completed. Seriously, you all know writers block? Well this chapter clung to the writer's Great Wall of China. Tonight however, I triumphed over it and got it finished. It's shorter than I'd like and it seems a bit fillery but it will be more important in later chapters. Anyway, thanks for waiting so patiently, I am incredibly sorry about the long wait and I promise there will never be so long a break between updates again.**

**Disclaimer-**Another Christmas has come and gone, and I still don't own X-men Evolution.

☺

Lance sighed and moved to the door, curious about who was there now. He hoped it was either the doctor's fiancée or Forge coming to tell them he'd fixed the whole problem, but something told him he wasn't that lucky.

"Wait, Lance." Wanda stopped him and put a hand on his arm. "You've got the munchkin, I'll get the door."

Lance nodded. It was a welcome reminder that he didn't have to handle absolutely everything on his own.

Wanda stepped in front of him and opened the door curiously. As soon as she had cracked it a blond woman she had never seen before forced it the rest of the way. For a brief moment Wanda stared. The strange woman stared back. She was young; she could only be a few years older than Wanda, seven or eight tops.

"Hi." Wanda started. "Welcome to the Xavier Institute for Gif-"

The woman gave her a look that was so familiar, yet it seemed very out of place on her pretty face. Wanda frowned and tried to place the look but decided she was imagining things.

"Um yeah, c'mon in." She stepped out of the way and there was a high squeal of delight from behind her.

"MAMA!!!!" Marie's face lit up and she reached her little arms out to the woman and squirmed toward her.

Wanda and Lance felt their jaws drop simultaneously as the woman stepped around Wanda and reached for the little girl.

"How's my girl?" She cooed. "Oh my beautiful little girl..." She held her young daughter tightly.

Rogue threw her arms around her mother's neck and buried her face in her shoulder.

"Mystique?!" Lance gaped.

The woman looked up and Wanda understood why the silencing look had been so very familiar.

"Close your mouth, Alvers, you'd best leave catching flies to Toad." She smirked, her eyes glowing yellow. "Don't look so shell shocked, you did know I was coming."

"Well yea..." Lance stammered. "But we thought...we were expecting you to look more like..."

"More like my true blue self?" Mystique quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Well...yeah." Lance admitted.

She smirked at him. "Come now Avalanche, you cannot honestly have been so seduced by Xavier's dream that you believe child services would place an infant in the care of a woman...a woman who looks...who looks like me." She said flatly. She sighed heavily and rubbed her daughter's back, working a hand through the toddler's soft silky hair.

For a moment, Lance could have sworn the woman's eyes were pooling with tears but then the next moment Marie pulled back, beaming.

"Missed ya Mama!" She cooed.

"And mama missed you too, sweet angel." Mystique kissed the little girl's forehead with a

laugh.

Lance and Wanda exchanged a confused and slightly alarmed look. The woman had never shown affection toward anything in front of Lance and while she'd been kinder to Wanda, even she had never heard the older woman laugh in a completely non-hostile way, let alone lovingly. Some strange instinct she'd never felt before bubbled up and gave Wanda an unexplainable urge to grab the little girl away from Mystique.

Marie was laughing and happy. "This is Remy, Mama. He's my bestes friend in the who' whirl." She announced proudly and pointed at her friend. "The lady is his sis'er...miss Angie. And this is Lance and Wanda." She introduced.

"I know, princess, I've met them before." Mystique smiled wryly at Lance and Wanda. She frowned at Angélique. "You I don't think I have."

"Angélique Lebeau." The girl nodded. "Remy is...was m' big brot'er. Way Ah hear it yo' lil fille an' m' brot'er be real fond of each ot'er."

Mystique forced a smile. "I've heard something about that."

"C'mon Mama, let's go where the others are! Ah wancha ta meet ma fends!" Marie said in a joyful, sing-song tone. Then she paused and frowned slightly. "Dija bing ma s'prise?"

Mystique laughed. "I did indeed, precious. I was wondering if you'd remember. Mama left it in the car, sweetheart. Want to come and get it with me?"

The little girl nodded but Lance stepped forward. "I don't think so, lady."

"Whattya doin'?" Angie whispered. "Ain' she de fille's mére?"

"Yeah, but I don't trust her as far as I could throw her." He responded tersely. "You aren't taking her anywhere near any car."

Mystique raised an eyebrow. "I'm her mother, Avalanche."

Lance scowled at her and stepped closer. "Professor Xavier left me in charge of keeping an eye on the younger students. She's too young to remember what you've done to her, but as her friend, I can't forget how hurt she was each and every time you used her or lied to her." He reached for the little girl. "And besides that, the professor would have kittens if he knew you were here."

She grinned wickedly, refusing to give up her daughter. "But as he's in Europe at that mutant conference with the UN, he will not be dictating my actions. And nor will you decide what I can do with my little girl, Alvers."

"Wait, how did you know about the conference?" Wanda blurted to Mystique.

"Your father wanted to attend it." Mystique's lip curled. "But something...more important came up. Now if you'll excuse me, my daughter has been eagerly awaiting the present she was promised, and I'd like very much to give it to her." She moved to the door but Lance stepped in front of her. "What now?"

"You are not taking her anywhere near a car." Lance set his face in a stern look. "I don't trust you."

Mystique rolled her eyes. "Fine, Wanda, be a dear and take my daughter for me?" Wanda glanced at Lance, who nodded. Mystique put the three-year-old carefully into Wanda's arms. "Follow me." Lance growled low in his throat. "Oh for heavens sake, Avalanche, what is it you think I am going to do, strong-arm the Scarlet Witch as well as my precious daughter into the car and drive away?"

He paused then nodded.

Mystique threw her arms in the air. "Fine, I'll just go get it and bring it here, will that make you feel better, boy?"

"A bit." Lance said edgily. He definitely did not trust the idea of Mystique bringing anything into the mansion, but he rationalized that if she meant to harm them, she'd have probably done so already. Still he watched the woman suspiciously as she strode down the front steps to her car, muttering under her breath about insolent teenagers. She opened the rear passenger door and removed a large box. It was green with a purple ribbon tying it shut. She reached back into her car and carried out a smaller box with blue wrapping and a big red bow on the top. She gave an odd half smile and started carrying the boxes into the mansion.

She made it three steps before giving Lance a withering glare. He sighed and stepped forward. She smirked and thrust the smaller of the two boxes into the boy's arms. "It's fragile. Drop it and I will kill you."

She moved quickly toward the door. Wanda was holding three year old Marie on her hip, an image that was both extremely odd and incredibly right at the same time.

"Ma s'prise!" Marie squealed and reached her arms for the box.

"Exactly Precious, are you ready?"

The little girl nodded eagerly, straining against Wanda's hold.

Mystique set the box down and Marie practically threw herself to the floor. She was tugging at the lid, eyes as wide as saucers. Her small gloved hands found the ribbon and she pulled it loose with glee in her eyes.

She reached to pull the lid off but paused as the box wobbled. She looked up at her mother, and then she peered at Lance and Wanda, uncertain. Her eyes sought Remy's and he shrugged.

"Go on Angel." Mystique smiled. The little girl bit her lip and reached to remove the lid but before she could do anything, the top burst off and a small ball o fluff propelled itself out with a little yelp of excitement.

Marie squealed and Lance moved toward her protectively. He threw Mystique a glare and was ready to scoop the little girl up when he realized she was giggling and squealing with delight as the ball of fluff-which was really a small black and white puppy- was licking her face.

"A doggie!!!!" Rogue giggled happily as she wrapped her little arms around it. "Is he really fo' me Mama!?!"

"Of course, baby girl." Mystique beamed. "And the doggie's a girl, princess, like you."

"Look Remy! Ah gots a doggie!" Marie laughed and hugged the puppy as she showed it to her friend. He grinned and slid from his sister's back. Tentatively he reached his hand out to touch the little dog. He yelped in surprise as it licked his hand.

"She gived ya a kissy!" Marie informed him. "It means she likes ya."

"Awww." Angie cooed. "Dat's so sweet!"

Lance stared at the adorable scene and then turned to Wanda, who was observing the scene with a half smile. He set his jaw and resembled Scott in a way he never had previously.

"What kind of game are you playing Mystique?" He crossed his arms.

The older woman looked up. "Please, Avalanche, have some tact. It is a codename for a reason." She glanced meaningfully at her young daughter. "And I have no idea what you are insinuating."

Lance narrowed his eyes. "You've screwed up so many times with her-all of us, but especially her-and now all of a sudden you're acting like you care and you're such a loving mother. But I know you, Mystique. You never do anything nice unless you're getting something in return."

The older woman's eyes flashed. "I am her mother, Avalanche, whether or not you agree. And seeing as you never had much time with yours, I doubt very much that you would be able to recognize a mother's love when you see it."

He flushed and looked upset. His mother had died when he was very young, and his genetic father was never in the picture. Child services had taken him and placed him in a home. At first everything was wonderful but about a year after he was adopted, the family went through a nasty divorce. The stress triggered his powers and the house collapsed. Nobody had blamed him, but he'd been tossed from foster home to foster home until Mystique had recruited him.

"I know enough to be suspicious of you waltzing in here like this." He said boldly. "Everything you do has a second motive behind it. You never cared one whit about any of us. I can't believe this time is any different."

She shrugged coldly. "Your beliefs are not my concern. I am only interested in the welfare of my children."

"As much as I'd love to believe that, you'll understand if I don't, I'm sure." He said snidely.

Mystique turned away from him and knelt beside Marie. "What do you think,baby girl?

Marie grinned and pulled the puppy close. "Ah love her Mama!" She cocked her head to the side. "Does she gots a name?"

"Well sweetheart, she's yours, so you get to name her."

"Really!?" Marie squealed.

"Of course, baby girl." Mystique cooed.

Rogue's eyes lit up and she looked intently at the puppy. "What's your name apposta be, doggie?"

The dog bounced up and licked her cheek.

"That doesn' help nothin'." She laughed and patted the puppy. "Remy what should Ah call 'er?"

Remy shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Remy dunno. Remy never had a dog. On'y Spot."

His sister snorted in laughter. "He still goin' bout dat ol' gator?" She ruffled his hair and he shot her a nasty glare.

"What parts a DON' DO DAT ain' makin' sense t' y'all?" The boy snapped as he ran a hand through his hair to untangle it. "Keep yo' dirty hands offa Remy's head."

Everyone laughed and Mystique looked at him with interest. "Isn't that one a bit young to be so obsessed with that mop he calls hair?"

Angélique looked insulted for her brother but he frowned on his own behalf.

"M' name be Remy. An' Remy ain' too li'l! 'M four an' free quarters."

"Of course." She smiled absently at him. Her hand moved and he stepped backward scowling.

"If y' do what Remy t'ink yo' gonna, Remy bite you."

Everyone stared at the boy. Lance sighed. "You don't mean that do you, Remy?"

The boy thought for a moment. "Oui."

"Heh. Kids." Lance chuckled nervously. "He's only four."

"An' free quarters!" Remy added.

"Of course, of course." Mystique smiled wryly. "Cute. Now, baby angel, don't you want to give your puppy a name?"

The little girl nodded. "Ah dunno what ta name her." She said softly. She looked at Remy with a tilted smile. "Whatdya think Remy?"

"Not my doggie." He shrugged. "Yo's."

She smiled and scratched the dog's ears. "The only dog Ah eva had is Jigger back home and Ah didn't git ta name her." She suddenly paused. "Mama, will Jigger and this doggie get along?"

Mystique's face contorted slightly and Lance thought he knew why. He knew Rogue's dog Jigger had been hit by a car when the girl was ten. Rogue had loved that dog and losing her had been tragic.

"Darling..." Mystique started, presumably to tell her her daughter the truth. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this but Jigger-"

"Dats a funny name fo' a dog, ain' it?" Remy interjected.

Marie shrugged, "Ah don' fink so." She looked up at her mother. "Is Jigger a funny name?"

Mystique sighed and Lance saw something almost human behind her eyes. "Of course not, angel."

"So will Jigger like this doggie?"

Mystique opened her mouth to respond. "Well, Marie...Jigger likes everybody, doesn't she? I'm certain there will be no problems." She finished and Lance gaped. "So just make sure you pick a good name for your new doggie."

The little girl nodded and looked back at the puppy. "Well...she kinda 'minds me of...a pigwin."

"A what?" Mystique raised an eyebrow.

"A pigwin." Marie said matter-of-factly. "Ya 'member, the funny waddly birdies that swim asteadof flyin' like we seed at the 'quaryummy."

Mystique looked mildly confused.

Wanda frowned. "Have you ever taken her to an aquarium?"

The older woman thought for a moment. "Yes, a couple of times, when she was much young- oh. Right, yes. But what on earth does that, or this dog have to do with pigeons?"

Wanda smiled slightly. "Penguins, not pigeons. She must have seen and remembered penguins."

"I beg your pardon?" Mystique raised an eyebrow.

"Penguins. It's what she said the puppy reminds her of." Wanda shrugged. "Is that right Marie, does the doggie remind you of the penguins at the aquarium?"

"That's what Ah said." Marie sounded vaguely confused. "The doggie aminds me of the pigwins."

"How in the world did you understand that?" Mystique turned to Wanda.

The goth shrugged. "I don't really know. I just do." She glanced at Lance uncomfortably. She had a weird squirmy feeling in her stomach and a voice in her head was throwing a tantrum about how something was not right with Mystique's presence at the mansion.

"Why does the puppy remind you of a penguin, baby angel?" Mystique asked the child.

"She's black 'n' white like pigwins." The little girl explained.

"Well I suppose I cannot argue with that logic." Mystique chuckled.

"That's it. Her name is Pigwin." Marie stated.

"You mean Penguin, Marie?" Mystique asked.

" 'Swat Ah jus' said, mama." The little girl frowned.

"Of course, baby, of course." Mystique smiled. "If you want her to be Penguin, then Penguin she is."

Marie looked thoroughly pleased with herself and she smiled. "Isn't that a great name, Mama?"

Mystique smiled and nodded silently. The little girl caught sight of the other package, currently in Lances arms.

"Is that f' me too, Mama?" She peered curiously.

Mystique shook her head. "No, Baby Angel, its for...somebody else, but it's nothing to worry your pretty little head about, okay?"

The little girl looked confused but she nodded. "'Kay."

"Now baby girl, weren't you going to introduce me to your other friends?"Mystique changed the subject.

The girl nodded and craned her neck up to see Lance's face. "Le's go!"

Lance grumbled and narrowed his eyes. "I don't like you here. I don't trust you." He pushed the box at the woman and grittted his teeth. "I don't know what kind of screwed up game you are trying to play and don't think for a moment I'm going to let you do anything to any of the kids here." He turned irritably.

Marie leaned close to Remy. "Why's he so mad?"

Remy shrugged. "Dunno. He was fine till y' mére got 'ere."

"Ya fink he don' like her?" She asked, worried.

"Dun' look like she does." He whispered. "But...Remy don' fink y' mére like Lance much eit'er."

"Oh." Marie looked slightly crestfallen. "Why not?"

"Dunno. Remy jus' gots a feelin'." He rubbed his head and frowned. "Can' splain it, Remy jus' know." He looked puzzled.

Marie looked equally as confused. "Don' get whatcha mean."

Remy managed to look more confused then her. "Can' y' tell? Dat's just what dey feelin'."

"How d'ya know that?" The little girl asked nervously.

He shrugged. "Remy just...knows. It be almost like...like somet'in' tellin' Remy what peoples be feelin'." He rubbed his head irritably.

"Oh dear." Angelique frowned. "Empathy." She reached an arm for her brother and pulled him close. She kissed his forehead and smiled gently. "C'mon Rem." She helped him onto her back.

"Emp'ty?" Remy asked softly.

"Empathy?" Echoed Wanda.

"Means he can sense emotion." Angelique frowned slightly. "Kinda like a dog smellin' fear.""I knew he had that power, but, isn't the ability to cause explosions enough for the poor kid?"

The boy's sister shrugged. "Least this one ain't so...destructive or painful for that matter."

Wanda nodded. Marie looked up, "Are we gonna go follow Lance?"

"Sure Angel, let's go." Mystique smiled at her daughter. "Oh wait baby." She knelt next to the box and picked up a green collar.

"Ohhh perty neckwace." Marie reached for it.

"No baby, it's not for you." Mystique smiled. She clipped it around the squirming puppy's neck. "It's for your puppy in case she gets lost. This way people will know she has a home. And later I'll get you a tag with your name and hers so everybody will know who she belongs to."

"Oh." Marie nodded and watched as her mother clipped a leash to the hook on the dog's collar. "Ok. But I won't let 'er get losted."

"I know baby, but it's better to be sure." Mystique smiled and handed the little girl the leash.

"Are you guys coming or not?" Lance called grumpily.

"Oh do shut up Avalanche." Mystique's lip curled. "We're coming."

The group moved forward and Rogue's new puppy's tail waved enthusiastically as she sniffed everything within reach, yipping occasionally in excitement.

The small group got downstairs and entered the danger room. As the door shut most of the rooms occupants looked up. They watched curiously, studying the two women they'd never seen. John, who'd been in the middle of a game of tag nearby with Tabitha and Bobby beamed when his eyes fell upon the familiar caretakers.

"Mamda!"He scurried over to her and latched onto her knees in a hug.

Wanda nearly lost her balance as he slammed into her. She pried him away from her knees and hoisted him up. He launched himself around her neck.

"I would guess he missed you." Angélique smiled.

"He certainly does seem fond of you." Mystique frowned slightly at the Scarlet Witch.

"So, she's good with kids. Got a problem with that?" Lance snapped at the woman with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not. It's just fascinating." Mystique said coldly. "She simply never struck me as the type children would be drawn to. Especially Pyro. As far as I remember before you and Magneto's team came here she'd never said two words to him. And now he's literally throwing himself at her."

"He's a friendly kid. He likes everyone." Lance narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure why he was defending Wanda, or even what he was defending her for or against. He did however know that something did not feel right and he didn't want Mystique here any longer than she needed to be.

Hearing Lance's voice, Pyro pulled away and scowled at him. "Meanie head!"

Lance looked at the small red head, slightly surprised at his outburst.

"John..." Wanda started.

The little boy pouted. "Wance pomised hat. He no gived hat. Him wied."

Lance smiled. "Hey there buddy, you thought I forgot about this?" He plunked the red fireman's hat he'd been holding since retrieving it onto the little boys head.

The toddler shrieked with laughter as it fell over his eyes. He beamed. "A hat fer Johnny!"

"Yep that's right pal." Lance chuckled. "Sorry it took so long."

And in typical toddler fashion he was instantly forgiven.

Wanda rolled her eyes slightly and smiled. She bit back a sarcastic remark and absently rubbed the toddlers back before setting him back on this floor.

By this point Tabitha had come over to the group. "What take so wong?" She put tiny fists on her hips.

"Lance gived me hat!" Pyro laughed.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Mystique's lip curled as she recognized the blond.

"M' Tabifa." The blond frowned. "Me no know you."

"She's ma mama!" Marie beamed at the younger girl. "She bringed me a pesant." Marie gently jerked the leash and the puppy who had been sniffing at every step the group had taken yelped slightly and trotted around to the front of her new mistress, her tail waving frantically.

"Wow a doggie!" Tabitha reached for the black and white furball. She petted it before looking up suspiciously. "This one go byebye too?"

"Ah dunno." Marie shrugged her shoulders. "Mama is Pigwin gonna go byebye?"

Mystique raised an eyebrow and Lance snapped at her.

"Wolfsbane went to Summer Camp. Ok so now you've seen the kids, time for you to leave." He growled grumpily.

"No baby girl, your puppy isn't going to go to summer camp." Mystique laughed, deliberately ignoring Lance.

Tabitha's eyes were wide as she nodded. "Lets go pway now, mkay?" She glanced at Pyro, Remy and Marie. "Ya comin' or what?"

Pyro looked expectantly at Wanda and then longingly towards Tabby and Bobby. The girl smiled and kissed him gently on the temple before setting him on the ground, where he scampered to his playmates.

Mystique smirked slightly but said nothing. "I haven't seen your obnoxious brother flitting around; is it safe to presume he's wandering around in diapers?"

Wanda snorted. "No, he's not a baby. He's just off sulking somewhere because we don't like his new girlfriend."

"That's somewhat surprising." Mystique said calmly, watching as her daughter joined Tabitha and the others, Remy trailing shyly behind her.

"Why is that? He's always been into girls normal people wouldn't approve of." Wanda frowned.

"Yes, I know that. I meant that I would have expected him to jump at the chance to do do something as risky and exciting as this must have promised to be. He was always complaining of the lack of 'kicks' in his life."

"Look Mystique, it's bad enough twelve of us are suddenly back in diapers and we have quite enough problems to deal with without you and your input wishing the number was higher." Lance snapped.

Mystique turned to him with an unimpressed look. "Maybe you'd have done well to volunteer as a participant yourself, Avalanche. You sound as though you could use a decent nap time."

Lance's eyes flashed and narrowed. He sucked in a deep breath clearly about to blow up at her about how he'd been getting by on very little sleep and taking care of twelve little kids and how everything possible that could theoretically go wrong was and in the most devastating ways possible. Wanda put a hand on his shoulder nervously but at the moment, Mystique inhaled a quick breath.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at one of the toddlers. Kurt had joined in the game of tag and had just scurried past.

"Kurt..." She said in incredulous awe.

The young boy's sensitive ears pricked at the sound of his name. He turned and froze, staring curiously at the woman by the door. He tilted his head and his tail swished around behind him.

The gathering of teens watched as tears, actual literal tears, welled in the womans eyes. After her son had fallen from the bridge she had only seen the baby one final time. She had scrambled down the river to reach him, praying he was safe, and by the time she found the bundle of blanket and baby it was too late: a kind looking man had fished the tiny blue baby from the river and was showing the whimpering child to a woman who was presumably his wife. Mystique sighed and with a heavy heart turned away from the village and her newborn son. She knew these people would be able to give her little boy a much better and more stable life than she ever could, but that still hurt.

He pondered her curiously, his eyes wide. He took several awed wobbly steps toward her. This strange woman seemed very slightly familiar to him. There was something in her eyes that struck his narrow childish memory.

Mystique stepped toward him and knelt in front of him. She set the package aside and scooped him into her arms, shaking as she clutched the toddler to her.

There was so much she wanted to say, so much she had in her heart but she had been rendered speechless. Kurt looked thoroughly bewildered but he realized this woman was sad. He wrapped his small fuzzy arms around her and nestled his head under her chin. This action had always made his mother happier.

"Kurt..." Mystique said once more in disbelief. That was not a name she gave to him, in all honesty she'd not had a name picked for the infant. But to be holding her son, her baby boy, was a powerful feeling.

"Who're you?" He mumbled curiously.

"I'm..." She hesitated, more tears welling. She wanted very much to say she was his mother. But that would just create too much conflict. "I'm a friend of your mother's." She said heavily.

"Oh." The little boy shrugged his shoulders and pulled away, ready to go rejoin his friends as he didn't quite understand.

"I've got something here for you." She reached for the box and put it into the little boy's hands.His yellow eyes grew wide. "Peth'nt mineth?" He questioned, his tail flitting behind him in excitement.

"Yes sweetheart, it's for you." Mystique said softly.

He grinned, baring his small, yet pointy, teeth before falling into a sitting position, clutching the box with joy in his eyes. He tugged at the ribbons and wrapping paper until they tore. He looked satisfied by the ripping sound and tossed the box's lid off. He gasped and shot his hands into the box. When he removed them moments later, they were clutched around a light gray ball of fluff. The kitten mewed in sleepy protest at being woken from its nap.

"Pickle." He announced in his broken English to the group of grown-ups around him.

Mystique turned hesitantly to Wanda. "What's he mean?"

Wanda shrugged. "I actually think he means what he said."

The older woman frowned before turning back to her youngest child. "Do you like him?" The little boy bit his lip before nodding. "Good." She smiled. "He's from your...your mother." She ran a hand through the little boy's dark hair and ran a hand down his fuzzy cheek.

The toddler stared at his new pet and tilted his head to the side. "Mine." He said defiantly. "My Pickle."

Wanda knelt beside the boy and his kitten. "He's a very nice kitty." She said gently, scratching the little cat behind the ears. Kurt looked up, startled when the kitten purred.

"You breaked it!" He accused. "You breaked Pickle!"

Wanda laughed. "No I didn't silly. He's making that noise because he's happy."

Mystique smiled at the surprise in her son's eyes. She felt a familiar ache in her heart at the reminder that she had pretty much missed her son's entire life. It was like every expression the boy made was a first for her.

"Him pothta buzz?" His tail swished curiously.

"It's called purring." Wanda smiled and Mystique felt a strange surge of jealousy that her baby was so comfortable with this young gothic teenager and yet he hardly felt compelled to so much as look at her even after she had just given him a kitten. "When a kitty cat is happy he makes that sound to tell everybody else."

The little boy blinked. "Why?" He asked in wonder.

"Well..." Wanda thought, still gently rubbing the gray kitten's ear. "What do you do when you're happy?" The two year old tilted his head and shrugged, his new kitten still in his arms. "You smile silly!" The older girl laughed and tickled the little boy under his chin, eliciting a big grin where his tiny fangs were exposed.

"Thmile." He repeated.

"Exactly, purring is how your kitty-"

"Pickle." The little boy interrupted.

Wanda smiled. "Sorry. Purring is how Pickle smiles."

"Oh!" His yellow eyes lit in understanding. He looked down at the little fluffy feline in his arms and then back at Wanda. "He mutht be REAL happy, huh?"

"Definitely." Wanda smiled gently. "Kittens really like it when somebody rubs them behind their ears. Like I am right now, see? Like this."

She guided his hands to where hers had been and showed him how to gently work his fingers around the kitten's ears. He beamed and imitated her for a few moments.

"Like thith?" He asked softly.

"Very good Kurt." Wanda cooed.

The boy proudly hugged his new friend, but he squeezed a little too tight for the kitten's comfort and was reprimanded with a swipe of the little gray paw-claws extended.

Kurt's eyes widened in surprise as three dark red tracks appeared on his arm. He saw the blood and immediately tears dribbled from his eyes and he whimpered a few warning whimpers.

Wanda pulled him close and he started crying loudly into her shoulder, still holding the kitten but unsure whether or not he wanted to be anymore. She rubbed his back soothingly. "ShhShhShh, it's okay, don't cry." She said softly. "He didn't mean to hurt you, you just scared him a little, Kurt." She looked up at Lance and spoke to him. "Lance, could you get me the peroxide and a band-aid?"

Mystique was impressed with how collected Wanda seemed, despite the two year old clinging to her and holding a kitten while crying in shock and pain. But on the other hand part of her wanted to clock this girl for being so calm and composed when her baby was bleeding.

Lance nodded, his jaw set in a grimace and he quickly moved to Colossus, who'd been wearily watching the exchange nearby. He returned shortly.

"Piotr figured we'd need it so he brought it down here." He handed her the supplies she'd requested and she quickly got to work.

Mystique was astounded at the efficiency of the Scarlet Witch as the girl gently handed the disgruntled kitten to Lance who held it lovingly, while she tenderly cleaned Kurt's cut and then put the bandage on and smiled.

She kissed his arm. "All better." She announced and Kurt looked at his stinging arm. He sniffed a few times and then smiled through watery eyes. He launched himself at the teenage girl and threw his small arms around her.

"You maked better! Owie goed byby." He beamed.

Suddenly Mystique felt as though a lead weight had settled in her stomach. Her own baby had been hurting, bleeding, and she hadn't even moved. But far worse than that was the realization that her little boy had thrown himself so happily at another woman, one he'd technically only met a few days previously, and had spared her no second glance. Though why, she thought bitterly, would he have any reason to extend thanks to her? She'd had no part in healing him, in fact at the sight of his blood she'd panicked more than he had.

Lance handed the little boy his kitten and ruffled his hair. Unlike Remy, Kurt didn't seem to mind it at all, he even laughed. Mystique swallowed hard and backed up.

With no warning she turned to the door and started walking quickly.

"Hey, HEY!" Lance called after her and moved to catch her. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm leaving." She said shortly, hoping he hadn't noticed the hitch in her voice. She refused to cry in front of him, she'd die first.

"Yeah right, so was this just another dumb opportunity to get in and see cerebro?" Lance demanded furiously.

"No." She half snarled. She was cursing him for following her, but herself as well for letting emotion hurt her this much.

"Mama?" Rogue had noticed her mother leaving from where she and her friends played. "Mama, where are you goin'?" She scampered to the door, Remy and Penguin at her heels.

"Home, Princess." Mystique said, not quite looking at her daughter.

"Me too?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"No Marie. You're staying here for now." She said tersely.

The little girl clutched for her mother's hand. "Why Mama?"

"Because." The woman answered sharply. And then she stepped into the hall.

Marie started wailing and Lance scooped her up, rubbing her back as gently and soothingly as he could while he raced after Mystique, glaring and calling after her.

Wanda watched them leave. She was shocked by Mystique's outburst and definitely puzzled. Kurt looked up at her and tugged at her pantleg gently.

"I maked her mad?" He asked, confusion written on his young face.

Wanda frowned, uncertain of how to answer. An ominous feeling filled her heart and somehow she knew that things had just gotten a lot worse.

**And thats a wrap folks. So ends the 21st chapter in Back In Diapers. Please please please review! I'm so sorry for the long delay, and I really hope I still even have an audience. I so understand if you guys and gals are frustrated but I promise to never be so long again. **

**In other news, I have a Deviant Art account (link in my profile) where I admittedly have mostly Avatar the Last Airbender fanart so far, but I do have a cute piclet of my interpretation of all the mini-mutants (including the one's I don't often mention like Fred and Amara) and the best picture of Wanda and baby Toad EVER!!! posted. I'd love ya ta check it out and maybe comment?**

**I also have stuff on YouTube (same screenname as here) if you like Avatar the Last Airbender, Backstreet Boys, and/or Avril Lavigne. It would be cool of ya to comment on my music vidlets but no need.**

**So anywho, next on MY list is the second to last chapter of 24 hours. However I am going to do the next chapter in End of The World (co-written with Howlerdrode) before then, and you should expect a few oneshots (Splurts from the ATLA universe are my block breakers so they are most likely to come forth) even though I have no plans as of yet. **

**So ... REVIEW svp?**

**AND HAPPY NEW YEAR**


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